Former Staffing Agency Owner Sentenced to 30 Months for Harboring and Shielding Illegal Aliens

FAYETTEVILLE, AR—Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today that Valentin Gutierrez was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for harboring and shielding illegal aliens for financial gain as part of a scheme to sell illegal labor to companies in three states. United States District Court Judge Jimm Larry Hendren imposed the sentence and also ordered Gutierrez to pay $10,000 in fines and to serve two years’ supervised release upon his release from prison.

According to documents filed in this case, on or about November 12, 2008, Homeland Security Investigations in Fayetteville, Arkansas received information that Valentin Gutierrez was employing illegal aliens and distributing counterfeit immigration documents and counterfeit Social Security cards. An examination of Gutierrez’s financial records revealed that Gutierrez had made bank deposits in excess of $6.4 million between May 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, from the sale of illegal alien labor to various companies in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. As a result of the ongoing financial investigation, Homeland Security seized Gutierrez’s bank accounts and forfeited approximately $117,100 that was traced to the proceeds of harboring and shielding illegal aliens. On May 10, 2012, Gutierrez entered a guilty plea to one count of harboring and shielding illegal aliens for financial gain.

This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with the assistance of task force officers from the Rogers Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the Springdale Police Department. The FBI also assisted on this case. Assistant United States Attorney David A. Harris prosecuted this case for the United States.

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Former Chief Financial Officer of Black River Area Development Corporation Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud

LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today the waiver of indictment and plea of guilty to a felony information by Debra Shannon, age 56, of Pocahontas, Arkansas. The information, which was filed in open court today, charges Shannon with one count of mail fraud.

For 37 years, Shannon held the position of chief financial officer at the Black River Area Development Corporation (BRAD) in Pocahontas, Arkansas. BRAD administers programs to assist low-to-moderate income residents of Clay, Lawrence, and Randolph Counties. Part of Shannon’s job duties included writing checks from various payroll accounts to pay employees and vendors as well as reconciling those accounts.

At the plea hearing held before the Honorable J. Leon Holmes, Shannon admitted that she wrote checks to herself from various checking accounts with the majority of the checks being written from the payroll account. She would then obtain the bank statements after they were received through the mail, disguise the payee on the cancelled check, photocopy the disguised checks, and put the altered checks in BRAD’s records. This activity began on or before December 28, 2001, and continued until May 2012. The total amount of checks embezzled was $390,735.65.

Thyer stated, “Embezzlement by a trusted employee is conduct which cannot be tolerated.” He added, “The stolen funds should have been utilized to assist the poor citizens and communities in the Black River area of our state, not to fraudulently increase an employee’s salary.”

The statutory penalty for embezzlement for mail fraud is not more than 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. Shannon remains free on her own recognizance pending sentencing, which has not yet been set.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen Whatley.

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Former El Dorado Bookkeeper Pleads Guilty to Seven Counts of Defrauding Doctor and Bank Out of More Than $540,000

EL DORADO, AR—Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today that Jason Christopher Knight, 31, of El Dorado, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to seven counts of bank fraud involving Dr. Shailesh Vora’s medical practice and hotel and motel entities and BancorpSouth. Knight, a former bookkeeper for Dr. Vora defrauded the businesses and the bank out of approximately $540,000 over an eight-year period of time. The Honorable U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey, accepted the guilty plea in U.S. District Court in El Dorado.

United States Attorney Conner Eldridge commented, “We will continue to prosecute those who commit fraud and abuse positions of trust in order to enrich themselves. In this case, a bookkeeper used his position to defraud his employer and a local bank of a substantial sum of money. This conduct is egregious, and he has been held accountable.”

According to information in the plea agreement, Knight was employed as a bookkeeper for Neurology and Sleep Disorder Center of South Arkansas (NSDC) and Akshar LLC, a hotel venture that operated hotels and motels in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Both entities conducted business in El Dorado, Arkansas, and were owned by Dr. Shailesh Vora. As bookkeeper, Knight was authorized to issue checks drawn from several NSDC and Akshar LLC bank accounts.

From June 2002 to 2009, Knight used his position to draw approximately 215 checks and $540,298.24 from several of the companies and BancorpSouth checking accounts without Dr. Vora’s authorization. Knight deposited the funds into a BancorpSouth account in the name of an investment company he controlled called Knight’s Investments.

For each count, Knight faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment and up to a $1,000,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the El Dorado FBI and the El Dorado Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney, David Ferguson, prosecuted the case for the United States.

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