A Little Rock man was sentenced to prison for orchestrating a scheme that defrauded a government program intended to help nonprofits, municipal agencies and disadvantaged businesses, according to a Friday announcement from U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland.
United States District Judge Brian Miller sentenced Mark Gregory Jackson Sr., 62, to serve five years in federal prison for a million-dollar equipment flipping scheme. He will also have three years of supervised release following his time in prison, the chief prosecutor for the Eastern District of Arkansas said.
Jackson and co-conspirators Jimmy Don Winemiller, Jr., 54, and Don “Terrell” Stephens, Jr., 40, also of Little Rock, all pleaded guilty in July 2018 to conspiring to commit wire fraud.
The judge ordered Jackson to forfeit over $1 million and pay up to $350,000 to settle related tax deficiencies.
The scheme targeted the Federal Surplus Property Donation Program, which allowed qualifying nonprofits, municipal agencies and disadvantaged businesses to acquire government surplus at special below-market rates, according to a news release.
Jackson used his construction business, Kingridge Enterprises, Inc., to gain access to the program by falsely claiming his disadvantaged nephew owned and operated the business. The nephew never worked for Kingridge and lived over 100 miles away from its Little Rock headquarters, the release states.
Once in the program, Jackson would give false justifications to acquire surplus, which was usually construction equipment. He would sell the construction equipment at steep markups and made buyers sign sham “joint venture” contracts in attempts to conceal the fraud.
Over four years, Jackson flipped more than 100 pieces of equipment through deals, making over $1 million in the process, the release said.