MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge has accepted a plea deal with a six-month prison sentence for a health care company CEO who pleaded guilty to trying to bribe an Alabama lawmaker.
WSFA-TV reports that Judge Myron Thompson questioned the deal for G. Ford Gilbert during a hearing on Tuesday in Montgomery before agreeing to it. The sentence was below the recommended guideline of 18 to 24 months.
Gilbert, the owner of California-based Trina Health clinics, pleaded guilty in January to conspiring to bribe then-Alabama House Majority Leader Micky Ray Hammon to push legislation that would require an insurer to cover a diabetes treatment at his clinics.
Hammon was removed from the Alabama Legislature in 2017 when he pleaded guilty to using campaign funds for personal use.