Two More Arrests As Result Of USDA Feeding Program Fraud

LITTLE ROCK—Two more people have been indicted for their roles in a scheme to steal federal money. Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today that Anthony Waits, age 37, of England, Arkansas, and Dorothy Harper, age 50, of England, Arkansas, were arrested after the filing of an 89-count indictment.

The second superseding indictment, returned by a federal Grand Jury on November 4, 2015, charges Waits and Harper with conspiracy as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) program funds. Harper is also charged with 16 counts of wire fraud.

According to the indictment, the USDA funds the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, which includes an at-risk afterschool component. In Arkansas, the feeding programs are administered by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS). Sponsors who want to participate in the feeding programs must submit an application to DHS for approval. Once approved, they can provide meals as part of the feeding program and be reimbursed based on the number of eligible meals they serve.

The indictment states that Harper operated as a sponsor for a feeding program through an organization called Kingdom Land Youth Outreach Ministries. She had feeding sites in England, Keo, Allport, Tucker, Toltec, Coy, and Altheimer, Arkansas.

Harper made unauthorized cash payments to Waits, whose wife worked at DHS. In exchange for these payments, Waits’ wife approved Harper’s applications, knowing that inflated claims would be submitted and helping Harper avoid DHS detection of the fraud. The indictment states that Harper falsely represented her average daily attendance and the number of meals provided. This fraud exceeded $1.3 million.

The indictment alleges that Waits recruited additional sponsors who also submitted inflated claims. Those sponsors gave Waits a percentage of the federal money they received in exchange for Waits’ wife, the DHS employee, approving the inflated claims.

Waits and Harper join the three other individuals who were already named as defendants: Gladys King, who was Waits’ wife and DHS employee who approved fraudulent claims; Tonique Hatton, another DHS employee who approved fraudulent claims; and Jacqueline Mills, another feeding program sponsor.

Also named in the indictment is co-conspirator Kattie Jordan, a program sponsor who has already pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud. Jordan stole $3.6 million in federal funds. Investigation is ongoing but indicates that Mills stole $2.5 million.

The statutory penalty for conspiring to commit wire fraud is not more than 20 years imprisonment, not more than a $250,000 fine, or both, and not more than 3 years supervised release. The statutory penalty for wire fraud is not more than 20 years imprisonment, not more than a $250,000 fine, or both, and not more than 3 years supervised release.

The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture—Office of the Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigations and United States Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jana Harris and Allison W. Bragg. If you are aware of any fraudulent activity regarding these feeding programs, please email that information USAARE.FeedingProgramFraud@usdoj.gov.

An indictment contains only allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.