A former Craighead County clerk was sentenced to 57 months in prison by a federal judge Wednesday for stealing nearly $1.6 million in county funds that he diverted to his own use during the first six months of 2020.
Jacob Kade Holliday, 34, was indicted in December 2020 on 11 counts of wire fraud totaling $1,579,057.03. In February, he pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr. to the first count of the indictment, which charged him with wire fraud for his first fraudulent transfer of $101,782.97 in exchange for dismissal of the remaining 10 counts.
According to court documents, Craighead County officials reported in June 2020 that a theft had occurred from the county clerk’s office. The bank that managed the clerk’s office account had flagged suspicious activity, and auditors concluded the missing funds had been moved to Holliday’s personal banking accounts in 11 separate transactions over a six-month period.
In addition to the 57-month prison sentence — which Moody ordered Holliday to serve consecutively with a 10-year prison term he is serving following a theft conviction in Craighead County Circuit Court — Holliday is to serve three years supervised release once he leaves prison. He was ordered to repay the money in restitution to the Craighead County Clerk's office as well.