Brandon Man Pleads Guilty to Submitting False Claim

Jackson, Miss. – Buck Stratton Flinn entered a guilty plea on December 11, 2015, before Senior U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee for submitting a false claim to the United States Department of Agriculture, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.

Flinn was the President of Community Development Leagues of America (CDL), located in Brandon, Mississippi. In 2007, CDL applied for and was awarded a $761,000.00 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development. The agreement between CDL and the Department of Agriculture provided for the construction of a wireless broadband system for the town of French Camp, Mississippi.

Flinn admitted that, on October 15, 2009, he submitted a request for reimbursement in the amount of $248,192.00 for monies which he falsely represented he had spent in furtherance of the broadband project.

Flinn will be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee on March 24, 2016, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine.

This case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris Wansley and John M. Dowdy, Jr.