Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Andrew C. Judkins of Bixby, Oklahoma, formerly of Fayetteville, was found guilty on two counts of Bank Fraud following a five day jury trial. During the trial, the jury was presented with over 300 exhibits and heard from 39 witnesses. The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks presided over the trial in United States District Court.

U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Fraudulent schemes prey on our local economy and will be aggressively prosecuted. Our office remains focused on those who perpetrate fraud, swindle money from others, and engage in financial crimes.”

According to evidence presented at the trial, in June of 2008, Judkins executed a scheme to obtain money and funds owned by and under the custody and control of First Security Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Namely, Judkins submitted a fake invoice representing:

Camp Equipment’s purchase of two dump trucks in the amount of $500,000.00 to First Security Bank. Camp Equipment was a business in Fayetteville, owned and operated by Judkins, which sold, rented, and serviced new and used heavy equipment such as dump trucks and bulldozers. Judkins purchased the two trucks in 2007 for $30,000.00 each, and in 2008, represented to First Security Bank that each truck was worth $250,000.00. In August of 2009, Judkins knowingly executed a scheme to defraud First Security Bank, by delivering to the First Security Bank representative conducting an on-site floor plan audit at Camp Equipment in Fayetteville, a false and fraudulent rental agreement that showed one of the dump trucks, in which First Security Bank held a $250,000.00 security interest, had been rented to Keepes Construction in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. This false rental agreement was delivered in order to conceal from First Security Bank that one of the dump trucks had actually been sold in July, 2008, for $74,000.00, without Judkins repaying First Security Bank.

Judkins was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in December of 2013. Sentencing will be held at a later date. The maximum penalty for each count is not more than 30 years imprisonment, not more than $1,000,000.00 fine, or both imprisonment and fine. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violations. The sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum for each count in this case, and in most cases will be less than the maximum.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyra Jenner and Steve Snyder prosecuted the case for the United States.