Former congressman starts new job 11 days after jury finds him guilty of felony

W.Days after resigning from Congress after a jury convicted him of three felonies, Jeff Fortenberry had already started a new job.

On March 24, Fortenberry was found guilty of withholding information and making false statements to the FBI. He resigned from parliament a week later. Four days later, he began working as director of an employee program for Practice Management of America, which provides business support to doctors, according to a disclosure he filed in July.

According to the panel’s 2020 memorandum, House members are allowed to negotiate future employment as long as they notify the House Ethics Committee within three days. That memo only specifies that a notice will be made public if a legislator determines there is a “conflict or appearance of a conflict of interest” and files a statement of refusal. I only have one denial statement on file, and it’s not from Fortenberry.

The Nebraska politician was associated with New York-based Practice Management of America Inc. during his tenure. Since January 2018, he has held private company shares in his IRA account. His wife is also an investor in the company. From 2018 to his 2022, a Practice Management of America employee who doesn’t tend to make large political contributions donated his $16,000 to Fortenberry’s campaign.

Fortenberry has some knowledge of healthcare, having served as a key member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee under the Food and Drug Administration. He resigned from that position and other commission duties after being indicted in October 2021.

Fortenberry and Practice Management of America did not respond to requests for comment. Fortenberry, who was sentenced to two years’ probation, appealed his conviction.