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Arkansas Ex-Treasurer Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges

David Goins

Former Arkansas treasurer Martha Shoffner has pleaded not guilty to mail fraud charges that allege she misspent thousands of dollars in campaign money on personal items.

Shoffner already faces a trial Monday on federal extortion and bribery charges.

At an arraignment Thursday, she entered a plea on 10 new charges lodged by a grand jury earlier this month.

That panel alleges Shoffner spent $9,800 in campaign funds for payments on a credit card used to buy clothing and cosmetics. U.S. Magistrate Beth Deere set a trial date of March 31.

The charges set for trial Monday accuse Shoffner of steering state business to a broker who had given her cash, sometimes in a pie box. She has pleaded not guilty. Shoffner, a Democrat, resigned days after her arrest last fall.

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