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

LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, UnitedStates Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today thewaiver of indictment and plea of guilty to a felony information by DebraShannon, age 56, of Pocahontas, Arkansas. The information, which was filed inopen court today, charges Shannon with one count of mail fraud.
For 37 years, Shannon held the positionof chief financial officer at the Black River Area Development Corporation(BRAD) in Pocahontas, Arkansas. BRAD administers programs to assistlow-to-moderate income residents of Clay, Lawrence, and Randolph Counties. Partof Shannon’s job duties included writing checks from various payroll accountsto pay employees and vendors as well as reconciling those accounts.
At the plea hearing held before theHonorable J. Leon Holmes, Shannon admitted that she wrote checks to herselffrom various checking accounts with the majority of the checks being writtenfrom the payroll account. She would then obtain the bank statements after theywere 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 May2012. The total amount of checks embezzled was $390,735.65.
Thyer stated, “Embezzlement by a trustedemployee is conduct which cannot be tolerated.” He added, “The stolen fundsshould have been utilized to assist the poor citizens and communities in theBlack River area of our state, not to fraudulently increase an employee’ssalary.”
The statutory penalty for embezzlementfor 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 theFederal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant UnitedStates Attorney Karen Whatley.