Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Five-year sentence for fraud in federal surplus property program
Federal Judge Brian Miller has sentenced Mark Gregory Jackson, 62, of Little Rock, to five years in federal prison for defrauding a federal surplus property program meant to help nonprofits and government agencies. He also was given three years of supervised probation.
From a news release from U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland’s office:
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. Judge Miller ordered Jackson to forfeit over $1 million and pay up to $350,000 to settle related tax deficiencies. Last October, Judge Miller sentenced Stephens to 30 days in jail and ordered him to forfeit over $125,000. This March, Judge Miller sentenced Winemiller to 20 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to forfeit nearly $275,000.
The scheme targeted the Federal Surplus Property Donation Program, which allowed qualifying non-profits, municipal agencies, and disadvantaged businesses to acquire government surplus at special below-market rates. Recipients are required to demonstrate a legitimate need for the surplus, and they must agree not to sell, lease, or rent it.
Jackson operated through his construction business, Kingridge Enterprises, Inc. He gained access to the program by falsely claiming his disadvantaged nephew owned and operated Kingridge. In truth, the nephew never worked for Kingridge, drew no salary, exercised zero control, and lived over 100 miles away from its Little Rock headquarters.
Once in the program, Jackson gave false justifications to acquire surplus, which was usually construction equipment. After obtaining the construction equipment under these false pretenses, Jackson sold the equipment at steep markups. To conceal the fraud, Jackson made buyers sign sham “joint venture” contracts, and he attempted to hide the activity from investigators.
A 2013 deal illustrated the scheme. On October 1, 2013, an out-of-state equipment dealer wired Winemiller $20,000 for a CAT 621B Scraper. Upon receipt, Winemiller paid Jackson $18,500. On October 2, Jackson, through his construction business, successfully requested donation of the CAT 621B Scraper for just $12,000 by falsely claiming Kingridge needed it for a “$1.1 Million Dollar Corp [sic] Engineer Project.”
Over four years, Jackson unlawfully flipped more than 100 pieces of equipment through deals like this, making over $1 million in the process
The scheme targeted the Federal Surplus Property Donation Program, which allowed qualifying non-profits, municipal agencies, and disadvantaged businesses to acquire government surplus at special below-market rates. Recipients are required to demonstrate a legitimate need for the surplus, and they must agree not to sell, lease, or rent it.
Jackson operated through his construction business, Kingridge Enterprises, Inc. He gained access to the program by falsely claiming his disadvantaged nephew owned and operated Kingridge. In truth, the nephew never worked for Kingridge, drew no salary, exercised zero control, and lived over 100 miles away from its Little Rock headquarters.
Once in the program, Jackson gave false justifications to acquire surplus, which was usually construction equipment. After obtaining the construction equipment under these false pretenses, Jackson sold the equipment at steep markups. To conceal the fraud, Jackson made buyers sign sham “joint venture” contracts, and he attempted to hide the activity from investigators.
A 2013 deal illustrated the scheme. On October 1, 2013, an out-of-state equipment dealer wired Winemiller $20,000 for a CAT 621B Scraper. Upon receipt, Winemiller paid Jackson $18,500. On October 2, Jackson, through his construction business, successfully requested donation of the CAT 621B Scraper for just $12,000 by falsely claiming Kingridge needed it for a “$1.1 Million Dollar Corp [sic] Engineer Project.”
Over four years, Jackson unlawfully flipped more than 100 pieces of equipment through deals like this, making over $1 million in the process
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2019/08/16/five-year-sentence-for-fraud-in-federal-surplus-property-program