FORT SMITH -- A western Arkansas man charged with more than a dozen federal crimes will be jailed ahead of his Sept. 12 jury trial after a U.S. District Court judge found he violated the conditions of his release.
U.S. Magistrate Mark E. Ford agreed with federal prosecutors during a hearing Monday that Billy Joe Taylor likely violated state and federal law, traveled outside the Western District of Arkansas without prior approval and continued contact with people he knew to be potential witnesses while out on bond.
Ford ordered Taylor's bond be revoked and Taylor be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He also denied a request from Taylor's attorneys to stay his decision pending an appeal.
Taylor, 43, of Lavaca pleaded innocent to 16 charges of health care fraud and one charge of money laundering during his arraignment Nov. 23. He was indicted Nov. 2.
Taylor was released May 26 on a $100,000 secured bond with conditions of release, according to court records.
Ryan Forsyth, U.S. pretrial services/probation officer, filed a petition Nov. 17 accusing Taylor of violating the conditions of his release. One of its allegations is that Taylor violated criminal law prohibiting fraud and theft during his release.
Taylor contacted the New York-based company GenTech Scientific about purchasing used laboratory equipment over the summer, according to the petition. GenTech agreed to buy three used machines and wired payments totaling $165,000 to someone else's bank account at American Heritage Bank at Taylor's direction. GenTech, despite receiving the machines, was never provided the necessary software, valued at about $75,000, the petition says.
GenTech also agreed to buy three other machines from Taylor for $170,000, the petition states. The company wired $85,000 July 28 and another $7,500 Sept. 20 as prepayment to the previously mentioned bank account, per Taylor's instruction, according to the petition. Although the machines were to be delivered to GenTech in early October, neither they nor a refund had been received as of Nov. 9. This was all determined through records obtained from GenTech and interviews with company employees, the petition says.
Under conditions of his release, Taylor was not supposed to leave the Western District of Arkansas without prior approval, though he could travel to Oklahoma for medical reasons and the Southern District of Florida for attorney consultation, with prior permission.
The government obtained records from the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa showing Taylor stayed there at least 23 times since his release, according to the petition. It added Taylor was approved to travel to Tulsa on only a few occasions, and he never requested permission to stay at the casino overnight.
The petition also states Taylor continued contact with three potential witnesses in the investigation or prosecution. The three worked for him and were familiar with his business and financial dealings, according to the petition.
Ford has said Taylor faces up to 10 years in prison for each of his charges, as well as fines, if found guilty during his jury trial.