Micah Scott Neal (born November 8, 1974) is a

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

man and politician. Neal represented part of Springdale in the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from 2013 until 2017. From 2003 to 2011, he was a justice of the peace on the Washington County quorum court. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to fraud relating to misuse of the state's surplus money.

Bribery

On January 4, 2017, Neal pled guilty to conspiring to direct $600,000 in state government funds to

Ecclesia College Ecclesia College is a private evangelical Christian work college in Springdale, Arkansas. It is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education. The college was founded in 1975 by Oren Paris II, the college's first chancellor and the ...

and another

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

in exchange for $38,000 in

bribes Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

. He was found guilty and sentenced to one year of home confinement, two years probation, 300 hours of community service and restitution of $200,000. The plea agreement also singled out the president of the college—Oren Paris III—for direct involvement with the conspiracy. Paris stated that "neither I nor anyone associated with Ecclesia College has ever participated or engaged in any activity to provide money to Mr. Neal or any other legislator in exchange for the receipt of those funds." Also indicted in the case is former

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Jon Woods Jonathan Earl Woods, also known as Jon Woods (born August 23, 1977) is a former American politician, musician, and convicted felon. He was a Republican member of both houses of the Arkansas General Assembly. Woods is currently serving an 18 year ...

of Springdale and Randell Shelton, Jr., of

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford County, ...

, Arkansas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Micah 1974 births Living people 21st-century American criminals American fraudsters American politicians convicted of bribery Arkansas politicians convicted of crimes People from Springdale, Arkansas University of Arkansas alumni Businesspeople from Arkansas Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly County justices of the peace in Arkansas Baptists from Arkansas