Water company owner faces federal charges

The owner of a Little Rock-based bottled water company is facing federal charges including wire fraud and money laundering, authorities said Tuesday.

John B. Stacks, the owner of Mountain Pure Water, is accused of obtaining a Small Business Administration loan for $703,000 after falsely claiming that more than $500,000 in company equipment was destroyed when a tornado touched down on his Damascus farm, U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said in a statement.

Stacks is charged with three counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of submitting a false claim to the Small Business Administration and four counts of making a false statement.

The wire fraud counts carry the longest possible prison term with a maximum penalty of 20 years each.

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