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A New Jersey man pleaded guilty to conspiracy Friday in a junk fax scheme that defrauded business owners across the nation of millions of dollars.

Andrew Wang and seven other employees of PBS Global, a Florida consulting firm, are accused of fax-blasting small businesses with fraudulent offers to help them sell their companies.

Their trial has been set for Sept. 9.

As part of a plea deal with the federal government, Wang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and consented to a $6.5 million forfeiture judgment against him. He also agreed to give up his interest in real estate and several bank accounts.

In return, prosecutors agreed to drop other charges and recommend the low end of federal sentencing guidelines. The maximum sentence that could be imposed at his July 7 sentencing date is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, three years probation and restitution.

Stephen Schneider said if the Kansas Board of Healing Arts had conducted its investigation into his Haysville medical clinic swiftly, he might not be facing federal criminal charges.

"I think there have to be some changes made, so things don't get out of hand like they did with me," Schneider said Friday morning, following his return home after four months in jail.

Schneider said that if the board had handled its investigation properly, he might have been exonerated through a medical review, alleviating the need for criminal prosecution.

"I thought that's the way it was starting out, anyway," he said.

Citing advice from his lawyer, Schneider declined to discuss specifics of the 34-count federal indictment against him and his wife, Linda, related to their prescribing of painkillers.

Deputy Wichita Police Chief Robert Lee announced Friday that he would join a growing field of candidates for the seat being vacated by Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed.

Lee, 49, said his campaign would focus on two major issues: a perception by some that Sedgwick County Jail inmates are mistreated, and reports that morale is low among sheriff's deputies and detention officers.

Although he stopped short of saying those issues indicate serious problems in the department, Lee said he planned to take a close look at both if elected in November.

In making his announcement at a news conference at the Scotch & Sirloin restaurant, Lee became the fourth declared candidate in a race that threatens to turn into a free-for-all.

The nature of the race turned sharply Wednesday when Steed unexpectedly announced that he was dropping his re-election bid to pursue other opportunities. He was considered a solid favorite to win a third term.