A former Davidson County judge has admitted to multiple crimes, including obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and stealing money from an organization receiving federal funds. Cason ’Casey’ Moreland, 60, entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court on the charges, which were announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to admissions made in connection with Moreland’s plea agreement, he devised a scheme to pay a material witness to sign a false affidavit recanting her previous statements, which implicated his criminal conduct in trading judicial favors for sex. He also devised a scheme to have drugs planted in the witness’s car, and then to have her stopped by police, so that she would be arrested and her credibility would be destroyed.
In addition to the obstruction charges, Moreland also admitted to stealing cash from the Davidson County Drug Court Foundation, a nonprofit entity that supported the General Sessions Drug Treatment Court. The court program was designed to provide alternatives to incarceration for certain defendants. Although Moreland did not have an official position with the Drug Court Foundation, he admitted that he exercised de facto authority over the organization’s operations.
Moreland admitted that he began embezzling cash from the Drug Court Foundation in spring 2016, directing the organization’s director to deliver envelopes of cash to his office. In February 2017, after learning of the FBI’s investigation, Moreland instructed the director to destroy all documents and records relating to the cash payments he had embezzled.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Lauren Bell and Andrew Laing of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecil VanDevender of the Middle District of Tennessee.
Moreland will be sentenced on Aug. 31. The exact sentence has not yet been determined.
According to the admissions made in connection with Moreland’s plea agreement, the defendant admitted to five counts of obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and stealing money from an organization receiving federal funds.
Mandatory facts: Defendant/respondent name: Cason ’Casey’ Moreland, 60, exact criminal charges: obstruction of justice, witness tampering, stealing money from an organization receiving federal funds, city and state: Nashville, Tennessee, exact date: February 2017, sentence or outcome: to be determined, dollar amounts: none specified.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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