Jack Williams
Jack Williams
On Friday, former state Rep. Jack Williams signed a pretrial diversion agreement related to charges filed against him in April, alleging he conspired to commit bribery in a statewide scandal involving a California business.
Clark Morris, public information officer for the Middle District of Alabama, confirmed Williams signed the agreement Friday, but his charges — which included conspiracy to commit bribery related to federal programs; conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud; and honest services wire fraud — have not been dropped.
In order to have the charges dropped, Williams must complete the agreement, which serves as a sort of agreement, Morris said. The terms of that not agreement were not known as of Friday and may not be made public, Morris said.
Williams referred the Vestavia Voice to his attorney, Jake Watson, who did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
Charges are the result of the dealings Williams and other lawmakers had with Trina Health, LLC, and Williams' involvement, according to the release, in attempting to push through legislation in 2016 that would benefit the company.
Williams and several other lawmakers are accused of using political clout to force Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama to cover a medical procedure offered by Trina Health, which previously opened three diabetes clinics in Alabama, including one in Hoover.
Trina Health offered outpatient intravenous insulin infusion therapy (OIVIT), but soon after they opened, Blue Cross announced they would not cover the treatment, questioning its success and safety.
At that point, according to a news release from Howard’s office, the company’s CEO, G. Ford Gilbert, recruited Micky Hammon, the State House Majority Leader at the time, and others to try and force BCBS to change their mind. Hammon, according to the release, received money from Gilbert, and then asked Williams, the chairman of the Commerce and Small Business Committee of the Alabama House of Representatives, to hold a public hearing on a bill, written by Gilbert, that would force insurers to cover the treatment, according to the release.
“Williams also knew of the payments to Hammon and acted in part to help Hammon, who, as everyone in the scheme knew, was experiencing grave financial problems,” the release stated.
