Shoffner Indicted On New Charges of Mail Fraud
The U.S. Attorney’s office announced that new charges were handed down by a federal grand jury charging former Arkansas State Treasurer Martha Shoffner with ten counts of mail fraud.
Mail fraud carries a possible sentence of not more than 20 years’ imprisonment and/or not more than a $250,000 fine with not more than three years of supervised release.
The indictment alleges that Shoffner used $9,800 of campaign funds from her re-election campaign for Treasurer of the State of Arkansas for personal expenses. It also says campaign checks were mailed for payments to a personal Wells Fargo credit card from November 5, 2010 through October 9, 2011. Individual checks ranged from $200 to $5,000. The charges to the credit card included clothing, cosmetics and other personal expenses.
The new counts of mail fraud against Shoffner are in addition to the previous six counts of extortion under color of official right, one count of attempted extortion and seven counts of receipt of a bribe by an agent of a state government receiving federal funds.
A trial is scheduled for March 3, 2014 before United States District Judge J. Leon Holmes.
Shoffner resigned from office in May of last year after the FBI arrested her on counts of extortion and bribery.