Craighead County Clerk charged with stealing $1 million in public funds

Craighead County Clerk Kade Holliday has been charged with stealing $1 million in public funds since January, according to the Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington.

Holliday, 31, of Jonesboro was reportedly arrested at his office Monday morning and booked into the Craighead County Detention Center at 10:56 a.m., according to jail records. He was slated to appear at a hearing were his bond would be set.

Holliday, a Republican, will be charged with at least 13 counts of theft of property greater than $25,000, according to Talk Business & Politics content partner KAIT.

“This morning, officers from the Arkansas State Police and Craighead County Sheriff’s Department arrested Craighead County Clerk Kade Holliday. I have instructed my deputies to immediately file felony theft charges against him. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Grant DeProw will file a felony information charging multiple counts of theft of property in excess of $25,000 and one count of Abuse of Office, all of which are Class B felonies. He will also file a petition asking the Circuit Court to remove Holliday from office today.”

Each class B charge carries a five to 20 year sentence range upon conviction.

Legislative auditors discovered that sums of money had been transferred from the county clerk’s office bank account into Holliday’s personal account. When auditors discovered the transfers, they alerted Craighead County Judge Marvin Day who then called Ellington on Thursday (June 25).

The online court documents state the prosecutor’s office is charging Holliday with 13 counts of theft of property greater than $25,000. The alleged thefts occurred on Jan. 23 and 29; Feb. 12 and 26; March 11 and 24; April 8 and 21; May 5 and 6; and June 3, 16, and 24, according to KAIT.

Repeated attempts by Talk Business & Politics to reach Holliday for comment through text messages and phone calls were unsuccessful.

Holliday became one of the youngest office holders in Arkansas when he was elected to the county clerk’s position running as the Green Party candidate in 2012. The previous County Clerk Nancy Nelms was ousted after it was learned the county had incurred $300,000 in IRS debts because of mistakes made in her office.

When he ran for re-election in 2014 he switched to the Republican Party. Holliday has previously told Talk Business & Politics he has several business ventures in the Jonesboro area in addition to his duties as the county’s clerk.

Last September, Holliday endowed two scholarships at Arkansas State University. His $500,000 commitment created an endowed professorship of jazz studies and an endowed scholarship for outstanding students in the jazz program.

As of this writing, he hasn’t officially been removed from his office.