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, UnitedStates Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today thatJason Christopher Knight, 31, of El Dorado, Arkansas, pleaded guilty to sevencounts of bank fraud involving Dr. Shailesh Vora’s medical practice and hoteland motel entities and BancorpSouth. Knight, a former bookkeeper for Dr. Voradefrauded the businesses and the bank out of approximately $540,000 over aneight-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 Eldridgecommented, “We will continue to prosecute those who commit fraud and abusepositions of trust in order to enrich themselves. In this case, a bookkeeperused his position to defraud his employer and a local bank of a substantial sumof money. This conduct is egregious, and he has been held accountable.”
According to information in the pleaagreement, Knight was employed as a bookkeeper for Neurology and Sleep DisorderCenter of South Arkansas (NSDC) and Akshar LLC, a hotel venture that operatedhotels and motels in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Both entities conductedbusiness in El Dorado, Arkansas, and were owned by Dr. Shailesh Vora. Asbookkeeper, Knight was authorized to issue checks drawn from several NSDC andAkshar LLC bank accounts.
From June 2002 to 2009, Knight used hisposition to draw approximately 215 checks and $540,298.24 from several of thecompanies and BancorpSouth checking accounts without Dr. Vora’s authorization.Knight deposited the funds into a BancorpSouth account in the name of aninvestment company he controlled called Knight’s Investments.
For each count, Knight faces a maximumsentence of 30 years’ imprisonment and up to a $1,000,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the ElDorado FBI and the El Dorado Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney, DavidFerguson, prosecuted the case for the United States.