FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               CONTACT:  DAVILYN WALSTON
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2007                                       PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/txe                                                      PHONE: (409) 839-2538
                                                                                                            CELL: (409) 553-9881
                                                                                                    

DEFENDANT ORDERED TO REPAY LAND OWNERS FOR TIMBER THEFT

TEXARKANA, TX -- United States Attorney John L. Ratcliffe announced today that a former Texarkana, Texas man has been sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $346,235.76 in restitution for timber theft in the Eastern District of Texas. 

ALLEN SPRAYBERRY, 42, now residing in Fouke, Arkansas, had pleaded guilty on April 18, 2007 to transporting fraudulently taken property across state lines.  He was sentenced today by United States District Judge David Folsom.

According to court documents, from 2001 through May 2004, Sprayberry defrauded 32 landowners in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana of approximately $346,235.76 while doing business as ALLEN'S FORESTRY SERVICE, also known as ALLEN'S FORESTRY, of Texarkana, Texas. 

Sprayberry admitted during his plea hearing to transporting timber for landowners although he did not intend to fully compensate the landowners as agreed in the terms of their contracts. 

This case was investigated by the Texas Forest Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jim Noble.
           
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