Oren Paris III, president of Ecclessia College in Springdale, pleaded guilty today to fraud ahead of a trial scheduled to begin on Monday, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports

Federal prosecutors allege that Paris paid kickbacks to former state Sen. Jon Woods and former state Rep. Micah Neal in return for general improvement fund grants to the college. Neal pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in early 2017. Paris was scheduled to go to trial next week alongside Woods and Randell Shelton, a consultant who prosecutors say served as a pass-through for the kickbacks.

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