A former judge who was arrested and indicted following an FBI investigation last year has been hit with five additional federal indictments for a scheme that allegedly involved stealing cash from a nonprofit that was meant to aid drug addicts, ordering the destruction of documents, and suggesting a witness lie to a grand jury, the Justice Department recently announced.
Casey Moreland, a former Democratic General Sessions judge in Nashville and Davidson County, Tenn., was originally indicted last April, following an FBI investigation that initially stemmed from allegations he used his position to intervene on behalf of two women in court cases in return for sexual favors.
Following the accusations, which Moreland denied, local news stations displayed text messages from one of the woman in which Moreland wrote, "Just used my super powers!!" after one of the women had gotten out of traffic court, followed by another text that read, "My desk still has butt marks on it!!"
Moreland attempted to cover his tracks by asking a longtime friend have the woman sign an affidavit recanting the public accusations, and added that he was willing to pay thousands of dollars for the signature. Moreland, who wanted to "destroy" the accuser's credibility, later floated the idea of planting drugs on the woman.
As a General Sessions judge, Moreland heard civil, criminal, and traffic cases while also presiding over the General Sessions Drug Treatment Court, a court program used to provide alternatives to incarceration for certain individuals. The Drug Treatment Court Foundation, a nonprofit entity that received federal funds, was used to support the work of the Drug Treatment Court.
Despite not having a position with the group, Moreland "exercised de facto authority" over the nonprofit's operations, according to the superseding indictment.
In the spring of 2016, Moreland allegedly began stealing funds from the nonprofit after telling Nan Casey, its director, to bring envelopes filled with cash to his office once a month. Casey, who at one point expressed uneasiness about the arrangement, was told by Moreland to increase her own compensation from the nonprofit by billing it for work at the Court Foundation Center, an outpatient treatment facility controlled by the Drug Court Foundation.
Casey continued to bring the cash to Moreland, who ultimately stole more than $15,000 from the nonprofit, according to the indictment.
Moreland became aware of a federal criminal investigation aimed at him in January 2017, the Justice Department said. Moreland then instructed Casey to destroy documents in relation to the amount of cash that he had taken from the foundation and suggested that she lie to a grand jury about his conduct.
Casey pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one charge of conspiring to embezzle funds and one count related to destroying evidence.
Moreland, who in April 2017 was initially indicted on five counts of obstruction of justice, was hit with the superseding indictment on March 14, adding five more counts including "two counts related to theft from a program receiving federal funds; two additional obstruction of justice counts relating to witness tampering and destruction of documents; and one count of committing an offense while on pretrial release," the Justice Department said.
Moreland is currently awaiting trail at the Grayson County Detention Center in Kentucky.