Martha Shoffner is the former state treasurer of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

. A Democrat, she was first elected in 2006, taking office in January 2007. She was re-elected in 2010.

History

Shoffner was born and raised in Jackson County. Born to a farmer and a school teacher, she graduated from Newport High School and attended

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

and

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. She started working in advertising and is also a licensed

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

Career

She was elected to the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the s ...

in 1996. After being

term limited A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potentia ...

, she was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the

state auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financ ...

. In 2005, Shoffner announced her candidacy for State Treasurer on the steps of the Jackson County Courthouse. After being outspent almost 3-to-1 Shoffner was elected to the office in 2006.

Arrest

On May 18, 2013, the FBI arrested Shoffner on a charge of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

. Following her release on bail, Shoffner resigned as Arkansas State Treasurer on May 21, 2013. She was subsequently indicted on June 5, 2013, by a Federal Grand Jury on six counts of extortion under color of official right, one count of attempted extortion under color of official right, and seven counts of receipt of a bribe by an agent of a state government receiving federal funds. She was convicted of all counts on March 11, 2014, by a jury of seven women and five men. On August 28, 2015, she was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison.

References

1940s births Living people State treasurers of Arkansas Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives American real estate brokers University of Memphis alumni Arkansas State University alumni People from Jackson County, Arkansas Politicians convicted of extortion under color of official right Politicians convicted of program bribery Women state legislators in Arkansas Arkansas politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians {{Arkansas-politician-stub