A former state attorney from north Florida has admitted to being a member of a bribery and extortion ring.

According to court records, Jeffrey Siegmeister, 53, of Live Oak, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Jacksonville to conspiracy to utilise a facility of commerce for bribery and extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, wire fraud, and filing a false tax return.

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Siegmeister consented to forfeit $518,803.50 and 7,372 shares of The Coca-Cola Company common stock, proceeds he acquired via his conduct of the charges, in addition to facing the potential of decades in jail.

Siegmeister served as the elected state attorney for Florida’s 3rd Judicial Circuit, which included the counties of Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Taylor, from 2013 to 2009.

Siegmeister allegedly collaborated with defence attorney Michael O’Steen, who defended people charged by Siegmeister’s agency, according to court filings. Officials allege that from November 2017 until May 2019, Siegmeister solicited bribes from O’Steen in exchange for the dismissal of charges brought against his clients.

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According to authorities, Siegmeister assisted O’Steen in extorting $60,000 from a client by withholding a pre-trial intervention agreement. O’Steen is accused of conspiring to utilise a commercial facility for illegal purposes, conspiring to commit extortion, aiding and abetting extortion, and failing to complete a form in connection with the receipt of currency. O’Steen’s defence counsel did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press requesting comment.

Officials said Siegmeister informed defence attorney Ernest Maloney Page IV in September 2017 that in exchange for a $20,000 discount on a tractor Siegmeister intended to buy from the client’s dealership, he would dismiss two DUI charges for one of Page’s clients.

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Siegmeister then purchased the cheaper tractor and permitted the client to plead guilty to reckless driving while intoxicated and refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test, according to the report. Page pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe federal programme officials in 2020.

Prosecutors say Siegmeister engaged in a conspiracy to defraud an elderly person under his legal custody from about January 2010 to April 2016. According to officials, Siegmeister transferred the victim’s assets to himself and prepared a will for the victim in which Siegmeister’s relative was named as the sole beneficiary of the victim’s inheritance.