Jacqueline Mills, a Helena-West Helena day care operator who received millions of dollars from the federal government for claiming to oversee 34 feeding programs for poor children over three years, was convicted Thursday of all 39 counts she faced in a two-week jury trial.
The jury also convicted Anthony Leon Waits, 38, of England of being part of the same multimillion-dollar conspiracy to commit wire fraud by recruiting friends and family members to submit false child-feeding claims in return for him getting more than $1 million in kickbacks.
U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. will sentence both at a later date, probably in about three months, after a pre-sentence report is completed.
The verdicts are the final convictions in a series of nine indictments naming 15 people that were handed up by a federal grand jury in Little Rock beginning in December 2014. To date, an ongoing investigation into the scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture has unearthed more than $11 million in fraud.
"This verdict confirms what the evidence has shown from the beginning -- Jacqueline Mills and Anthony Waits are thieves who preyed on the most vulnerable members of our society," acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Harris said in a news release.
He added, "Their outrageous behavior -- literally stealing millions of dollars intended to be used for feeding hungry Arkansas children -- is among the most egregious fraud this office has seen, and we will request a sentence that reflects the seriousness of their conduct."
Mills, 41, who was represented at the trial by attorney Bill James of Little Rock, remains free until sentencing. James said Mills is disappointed about the verdict and plans to appeal. Waits, who was represented by attorney Willard Proctor Jr., remains in custody, as he has been since his arrest in 2015.
Mills and Waits were among six people indicted together in the conspiracy, which prosecutors said lasted roughly from August 2011 to August 2014. The other four pleaded guilty before the trial.
They included Tonique Hatton of North Little Rock and Gladys Elise Waits of England, who both worked for the state Department of Human Services, which administered the federally funded program. Both women have admitted being the "gatekeepers" who, in return for bribes, made it possible for the others to defraud the program.
Hatton was sentenced in January to nine years in prison and is to report there by April 20, but she is hoping to receive a sentence reduction for testifying at the trial. Gladys Waits, who is married to Anthony Waits and is also known by her maiden name, Gladys King, hasn't yet been sentenced but also is hoping for leniency in exchange for testifying at the trial.
Another admitted co-conspirator in the case, Kattie Lannie Jordan of Dermott, began serving a five-year prison sentence in June, while Dortha Harper of England pleaded guilty on March 24, just before the trial began, and is awaiting sentencing.
Among those who were named in separate indictments and eventually pleaded guilty are Maria Carmen Nelson, who was working as a security officer at the federal administration building next door to the federal courthouse when she was arrested. She was sentenced in January to 2½ years in prison. Six other people named in the separate indictments await sentencing.
Assistant U.S. attorneys Jana Harris, Allison Bragg and Cameron McCree said the Department of Human Services "insiders" paved the way for the others to sign up as sponsors for food-providing programs operated by the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program. The program includes an at-risk after-school component during the school year and a summer nutrition program to feed children while school isn't in session.
The prosecutors said the sponsors submitted invented or greatly exaggerated claims about the number of children fed at each site approved by Hatton and Gladys Waits. Some sites fed children while others never did. The claims were then "reimbursed" through the state by the USDA.
The amount of restitution each member of the conspiracy will be required to pay to the USDA will be determined at sentencing. Hatton has been held responsible for repaying more than $7.6 million, in addition to the $17,681 in property she was required to forfeit to the government. Jordan, 52, has been held responsible for repaying more than $3.6 million.
Jurors announced the guilty verdict Thursday after they spent two more hours deliberating in the case. They had spent 3½ hours deliberating Wednesday. While Anthony Waits faced just one wire-fraud conspiracy charge, Mills was convicted of the conspiracy charge as well as 25 counts of wire fraud, 10 counts of bribery and three counts of money laundering.
Wire fraud and wire-fraud conspiracy are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 under federal statutes, while the maximum penalty for bribery and money laundering is 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000.
The jury also ordered Mills to forfeit to the government 14 pieces of property, including a house in Helena-West Helena and the adjoining land, a vacant lot, four vehicles and more than $490,000 seized from multiple bank accounts. The jury approved the forfeiture after hearing a forensic accountant's testimony and agreeing that the property was traceable to proceeds of criminal activity.
James said the house is where Mills, who has a 3-year-old daughter, has been living, though she now lives in an apartment in Little Rock.
Dax Roberson, special agent in charge of the USDA Office of Inspector General, said in the news release that "when the integrity of nutrition programs for needy children is violated by criminal conduct, the Office of Inspector General will pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law."
"Stealing from government-sponsored programs is not a victimless crime. It is a crime against the American public," added Tracey Montano of the Internal Revenue Service.
The fraud investigation into the food-providing program has been pursued not only by the USDA, but by the FBI, the IRS and the U.S. Marshals Service.
In addition to Gladys Waits and Harper, the six other people still awaiting sentencing are Anthony Waits' nephew, Christopher Nichols; Waymon Weeams; Francine Leon; Michael Lee; Alexis Young; and Erica Warren.
A Section on 04/07/2017