10th Circuit Court upholds convictions of former Oklahoma auditor and inspector

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 23-page unanimous decision by a three-judge panel, also affirmed his sentence to prison for eight years and one month.

"The evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that McMahan accepted bribes from Phipps with the intent to allow his official action to be influenced," the judges wrote, referring to southeastern Oklahoma businessman Steve Phipps.

McMahan, 50, was convicted in 2008 in Muskogee of two counts of interstate travel to meet Phipps to facilitate bribery and one count of conspiracy to deprive Oklahoma citizens of their right to honest public service.

He is serving a prison term imposed by U.S. District Judge James Payne.

McMahan testified at trial that he did not know of the conspiracy and denied he ever corruptly accepted anything with the intent that his official action be influenced.

"The jury heard evidence that Phipps underwrote a sizable percentage of McMahan's 2002 campaign, funded several of McMahan's trips (after the election) and bestowed a variety of other gifts" on him and his wife, Lori, the Denver-based court said.