An accountant from Fulton County has been sentenced for financial fraud after he allegedly stole more than $9 million from a client. Seventy-one-year-old Edward Cooper of Mammoth Spring has been sentenced to 60 months in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Cooper worked as an accountant with the Osborn & Osborn accounting firm in Jonesboro and handled a number of financial affairs for Roach Manufacturing Corporation, a family business in Trumann. Beginning in approximately 1996, when he prepared dividend distribution checks and tax checks for Roach Manufacturing, he requested extra checks and then made them payable to himself.
Cooper deposited these checks into his own account without the permission or knowledge of Roach Manufacturing. In this way, he took approximately 138 unauthorized checks from 1996 through 2018, totaling over $9 million. In the fall of 2017, Roach Manufacturing hired a financial manager who detected the fraud, leading to the criminal case.
Arkansas Times says according to a civil lawsuit, the stolen money paid for a lavish lifestyle including travel, jewelry and a $2 million cabin on the Spring River for Cooper and his former wife. During that time, they never reported more than $70,000 in taxable income. The article says the civil lawsuit produced a $9 million settlement against Cooper. His former wife, whom he was divorced from in 2018, and their children were released from liability. Some of the real property was turned over to the Roach family as partial payment, but lawyers say they don’t expect the judgment to be paid in full.
Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, says, “This defendant took advantage of a family business that had placed their trust in him. His years of deceit have finally caught up with him. This sentence demonstrates our office’s commitment to prosecuting those who cheat our citizens out of their hard-earned money.”
Cooper pleaded guilty in January to an indictment charging him with one count of bank fraud. In addition to 60 months in prison, Chief Judge Marshall sentenced Cooper to two years of supervised release, following his term of imprisonment. Cooper was also ordered to pay $7.4 million in restitution.
The case was investigated by the FBI.
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