Former State Rep. Glen Casada, chief of staff file motion to dismiss charges

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Legal teams representing former Tennessee House Representative Glen Casada and his former Chief of Staff Cade Cothren filed a motion to dismiss their corruption charges on Monday in district court.

Casada and Cothren were arrested at their homes on Aug. 23 by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation after a federal grand jury indicted them on multiple charges of bribery and kickbacks using federal funds.

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The indictment states that Casada and Cothren, in concert with former state representative Robin Smith, began a fraudulent scheme to obtain state approval of Phoenix Solutions as the official vendor to provide constituent mail services to members of the Tennessee General Assembly. The three hid their involvement with Phoenix Solutions by allegedly submitting fraudulent invoices to funnel money from the state to Phoenix Solutions.

In 2020, Phoenix Solutions received nearly $52,000 from the state through the mailer program.

They both have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Smith pleaded guilty in March 2022 and cooperated with the FBI, which led to the indictments of Casada and Cothren.

The motion to dismiss was filed on Monday, July 24, and can be viewed here: