蒙大拿州陪审团裁定前参议院主席杰森·埃尔斯沃思因轻罪官员不当行为罪名成立 [1]。埃尔斯沃思被控在2024年12月底绕过正常的州合同审批流程，向与其长期商业伙伴有关的公司授予价值17万美元的非竞争性合同 [1]。
事件涉及埃尔斯沃思与商业伙伴布莱斯·埃格尔斯顿合作长达20年 [1]。埃格尔斯顿在2024年圣诞夜向埃尔斯沃思提交了针对Agile Analytics公司的合同 [1]。该公司在提交合同前数周才注册为蒙大拿州企业 [1]。埃尔斯沃思作为立法审计委员会主席，签署了不完整的协议，随后才提交给州官员进行合法化处理 [1]。
陪审团讨论近4小时后做出了有罪裁决 [1]。法院定于2025年9月10日对埃尔斯沃思进行量刑 [1]，其面临最高六个月的监禁 [1]。此外，埃尔斯沃思已于2025年4月被参议院禁止进入参议院大厅和委员会 [1]。
A jury has found Jason Ellsworth, former chair of Montana's Legislative Audit Committee, guilty of official misconduct for awarding a non-competitive contract worth $170,000 to a company connected to his long-standing business associate [1]. The conviction was reached after approximately four hours of jury deliberation [1].
The misconduct occurred in late December 2024, when Ellsworth bypassed standard state contract approval procedures by signing an incomplete agreement before submitting it to state officials for approval [1]. The contract was awarded to Agile Analytics, a company that had registered as a Montana business only weeks before the agreement was submitted [1]. Ellsworth's business partner, Bryce Eggleston—with whom he has maintained a relationship spanning two decades—submitted the contract on Christmas Eve 2024 [1].
Ellsworth faces sentencing on September 10, 2025, with a maximum penalty of six months in prison [1]. In April 2025, the state Senate prohibited him from entering the Senate chambers and attending committee meetings [1].