LITTLE ROCK — Maria Carmen Nelson, 50, of Little Rock, has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for her role in a brazen scheme to steal more than half a million dollars from a USDA program designed to feed hungry children in low-income communities. The funds were meant to nourish kids. Instead, Nelson funneled them into cash payoffs for a corrupt state employee.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge J. Leon Holmes handed down the sentence after Nelson pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on August 25, 2016. She’ll serve 30 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, and must pay full restitution: $575,917.76. The money was siphoned through her nonprofit, “Securing Our Future,” which operated approved feeding sites in Little Rock and Malvern from March 2012 to March 2015.
Nelson didn’t act alone. She was recruited by a now-former Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) employee who oversaw the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program. In exchange for approval and oversight leniency, Nelson inflated the number of meals served, then withdrew cash from her account and handed it over as kickbacks. The fraud ran unchecked for nearly three years.
Nelson is the fifth defendant sentenced in this sprawling corruption ring. Kattie Jordan got 63 months on March 15, 2016. Reuben Nims was sentenced to 21 months on November 2, 2016. Tonique Hatton received 108 months on January 4, 2017. James Franklin was handed 24 months on January 10, 2017. Others — Gladys Waits, Christopher Nichols, Waymon Weeams, Francine Leon, Michael Lee, Alexis Young, and Erica Warren — have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.
Three more suspects — Jacqueline Mills, Dortha Harper, and Anthony Waits — are set to stand trial on March 27, 2017, before U.S. District Judge James M. Moody, Jr. The investigation, which exposed systemic failures in oversight, remains active. Federal agents from the USDA–Office of Inspector General, FBI, IRS–Criminal Investigations, and U.S. Marshals Service are still digging.
Prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jana K. Harris, Allison W. Bragg, and Cameron McCree. Authorities are urging anyone with information on similar fraud to contact USAARE.FeedingProgramFraud@usdoj.gov. These meals were meant for children. Instead, greed turned them into currency for crime.
Related Federal Cases
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Key Facts
- State: Arkansas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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