It appears to be the beginning of the end in a rather extensive and complex scheme involving bribery and fraud across multiple states.

Former Arkansas State Senator Jeremy Hutchinson will be serving a total of almost 4 years (46 months) in prison in the Eastern District of Arkansas, according to a DOJ press release on Friday.

He's being charged with tax fraud and accepting multiple bribes because of his involvement with various illegal activities extending from the Eastern to Western districts of Arkansas, as well as in the Western District of Missouri.

Hutchinson pleaded guilty to the charges in the Eastern and Western districts of Arkansas on June 25, 2019.

He pleaded guilty the charges in the Western District of Missouri on July 8, 2019.

Hutchinson's attempted cover-up

Court documents indicate that during the span of 2010 - 2017, Hutchinson stole and inappropriately used thousands of dollars in state campaign contributions for personal usage, and then when he filed his 2011 - 2014 tax returns, he filed false tax returns in an attempt to cover up his activities.

Hutchinson is also being ordered by the court to repay a total of over $350,000 to the Arkansas and federal governments, according to Fox News.

Hutchinson is the nephew of the former Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, a Republican.

The former governor has publicly mentioned that he is considering running for president in 2024, according to an Associated Press interview in Dec. 2022.

During the interview, he said he felt that it was a "worst scenario" for Republicans that former President Donald Trump will run for president again in 2024.

Trump officially announced his 2024 run on Nov. 15, 2022, according to CNN.

Hutchinson's involvement Western District of Missouri scheme

Jeremy Hutchinson was also involved in the scheme in the Western District of Missouri, which involved multimillion-dollar public corruption, according to Friday's DOJ press release.

The scheme involved embezzlement, bribes, and illegal campaign contributions for elected public officials.

Employees and executives of Springfield, Missouri-based health care charity Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. (formerly known as Alternative Opportunities Inc.), offered bribes to Hutchinson, which he accepted.

The purpose of the bribes was for Hutchinson to arrange for favorable legislative and official action that benefited the charity.

Sentencing for Hutchinson is still pending for this particular scheme.

He is one of several who have pleaded guilty for involvement in it.