A former bookkeeper at the Arkansas Foodbank, a nonprofit organization that feeds the hungry, admitted Tuesday that he embezzled more than $100,000 from the agency in 2011 and 2012.
Craig Thomas Smith, 47, changed his plea to guilty in federal court Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Brian Miller. Smith had tried to make the change last week, but he had tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine during his latest drug screen.
Smith -- who maintained the general ledger, entered bank deposits and processed payroll -- is accused of stealing from the food bank from September 2011 to August 2012.
Prosecutors said Smith stole from the organization by writing himself a series of unauthorized checks, bearing the forged signature of the chief executive officer, on the food bank's account. Most of the checks were cashed at local businesses, while others were deposited straight into Smith's account at the Arkansas Employees Federal Credit Union.
Smith would then delete references to the unauthorized checks in the food bank's monthly statements and wouldn't record the checks in the food bank's ledger, according to an indictment.
Smith was terminated from the food bank in July 2012, prosecutors said. It was only afterward that his successor found discrepancies in the general ledger, leading to the discovery of the theft.
As part of Smith's plea agreement, he will pay $100,454.60 in restitution to the Arkansas Foodbank. He will also be barred from working at a federally insured depository institution.
After changing his plea Tuesday, Smith, who was jailed last week after testing positive for drug usage, pleaded with Miller to set him free before his sentencing hearing. Smith admitted to using drugs before last week's hearing, probation officers said.
"I have been clean of all substances," Smith said Tuesday, adding that last week's slip-up was a "stupid mistake."
He told Miller that he had been taking pain medication for more than a dozen years, but he stopped taking it because it "messes with your head."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Morgan asked the judge to keep Smith jailed until the sentencing hearing.
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," he said, adding that last week's positive drug screen was the second time Smith was found to have drugs in his system.
Miller denied Smith's request, saying Smith's statement was "unbelievable."
"We already knew of your records from Arizona," Miller said, referencing Smith's probationary history in Arizona where he now resides. "You still have the nerve while you're under oath, telling me what you have not done."
Smith will be sentenced at a later date. The charge -- federal program theft -- carried a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and as much as a $250,000 fine.
The food bank, based in Little Rock, fights hunger by getting and distributing food in a 33-county area. It is funded through grants, donations and assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The federal department gave $257,344 in 2011 and $364,778 in 2012 to the food bank, court documents show.
The current chief executive officer, Rhonda Sanders, has said the food bank has taken the necessary steps to prevent theft from happening again.
Metro on 10/22/2014