Former Tennessee chief of staff Cade Cothren and state Rep. Glen Casada have been arrested by the FBI. The two face up to 20 years in federal prison on charges including bribery, kickbacks and conspiracy to commit money laundering with federal funds.

Casada, 63, and Cothren, 35, were indicted by a federal grand jury Monday. They allegedly ran a constituent mailing program intended to personally enrich themselves, the Justice Department said. The two will appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on Tuesday. 

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As per the 20-count charging document, Casada and Cothren exploited their positions of power by working with another unnamed lawmaker to funnel money to themselves using a political consulting firm — known as Phoenix Solutions, LLC — that concealed their involvement.

Who is Cade Cothren?

Born in 1986, Cade Cothren is a former press secretary and was Glen Casada’s chief of staff. He is 35 years old. 

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Cothren graduated graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knocksville with a degree in political science in 2010. He then worked for Tennessee House Republican Caucus and became director of communications.

He, at 32, was one of the  youngest chiefs of staff in legislative history. He began working for the House in 2012. Cothren closely worked with Casada on campaigns. He served as the Franklin representative’s executive assistant and policy researcher.

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In 2019, after becoming Casada’s chief of staff, Cothren was accused of soliciting sex from legislative interns and making inappropriate sexual advances to staff members. The 35-year-old also admitted to cocaine use in legislative offices before stepping down in May 2019.

The charging documents revealed Tuesday say Cothren launched Phoenix Solutions with Casada’s “knowledge and support” to offer mail and consulting services to lawmakers. All three claimed the firm was run by a “Matthew Phoenix” when in fact it was a made-up alias for Cothren, and Casada knew the name was fictitious, the documents allege.