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Press Release

Former Craighead County Clerk Sentenced to 57 Months In Prison for Wire Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Arkansas
Defendant Took More Than $1.5M In County Funds

      LITTLE ROCK—Former Craighead County Clerk Jacob Kade Holliday was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison today for taking more than $1.5 million in county money for his personal use.  Holliday, 34, of Jonesboro, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James M. Moody, Jr., who also imposed three years of supervised release after Holliday completes his prison term.

      In June 2020, Craighead County officials reported that a theft had occurred from the Craighead County Clerk’s office. The bank that managed the Clerk’s office account had flagged suspicious activity, and auditors concluded that approximately $1,579,057.03 was missing and had been moved to Holliday’s personal banking accounts.

      Law enforcement interviewed Holliday, who admitted to taking the money to fund his businesses: Holliday Development and Management, LLC, and Total Healthcare, LLC, both of which operated restaurants and coffee shops in Jonesboro. Holliday told investigators he planned to pay the money back, but once the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of his businesses to close, he could not replace the money.

      Holliday was indicted in December 2020, when a grand jury charged him with 11 counts of wire fraud for each withdrawal he made from the county account. He pleaded guilty in February of this year and acknowledged that his method was to make a transfer from the county account to one of his personal accounts and then get a cashier’s check from his personal account for the same amount. He pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, which charged him with wire fraud for his first fraudulent transfer of $101,782.97 on January 29, 2020. In his plea agreement, Holliday agreed to pay $1,579,057.03 in restitution to Craighead County.

      Holliday is currently serving a 120-month sentence in a state case for forgery, and Judge Moody ordered that his federal sentence will not begin until the state sentence is completed. The FBI, Arkansas State Police, and Craighead County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Allison W. Bragg prosecuted the case.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Updated September 21, 2022

Topic
Financial Fraud