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PITTSBURG —
Six men, all from Pine Bluff, Ark., admitted their role in an asphalt scheme in Crawford County last spring as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Mark Fletcher, 55; Allen Jeffery, 49; Gabriel Jeffery, 19; Buck Pierce, 49; Jordan Pierce, 22; and Barney Wells, 24, were charged with felony theft by deception in September.
The group were working for a company working in the Four States area calling itself Super Asphalt Paving of Spiro, Okla. The defendants reached two businesses and three individuals to do asphalt work. According to Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso Jr., the defendants would demand more money than originally agreed upon while also using substandard materials for the job.
“Our office will do what we can to prosecute individuals who criminally defraud innocent victims of their hard earned money. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more cases like these come across our desk,” Gayoso said.
As part of the plea agreement, the defendants admitted their guilt while also entering a diversion agreement. Furthermore, the defendants agreed not to enter into any contracts in the county for a year, while also agreeing to pay $37,500 in restitution immediately to the victims of the scheme.
“Financial crimes can be extremely frustrating to prosecute because almost all of these crimes are presumptive probation and restitution may take years to recoup. We were extremely pleased we recovered 100 percent of the restitution for these victims as quickly as we did,” Gayoso said.
Gayoso singled out Deputy Jeremy Allen of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department for investigating the case and praised the Jefferson County (Ark.) Sheriff’s Department for arresting the six defendants.
Six men, all from Pine Bluff, Ark., admitted their role in an asphalt scheme in Crawford County last spring as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Mark Fletcher, 55; Allen Jeffery, 49; Gabriel Jeffery, 19; Buck Pierce, 49; Jordan Pierce, 22; and Barney Wells, 24, were charged with felony theft by deception in September.
The group were working for a company working in the Four States area calling itself Super Asphalt Paving of Spiro, Okla. The defendants reached two businesses and three individuals to do asphalt work. According to Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso Jr., the defendants would demand more money than originally agreed upon while also using substandard materials for the job.
“Our office will do what we can to prosecute individuals who criminally defraud innocent victims of their hard earned money. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more cases like these come across our desk,” Gayoso said.
As part of the plea agreement, the defendants admitted their guilt while also entering a diversion agreement. Furthermore, the defendants agreed not to enter into any contracts in the county for a year, while also agreeing to pay $37,500 in restitution immediately to the victims of the scheme.
“Financial crimes can be extremely frustrating to prosecute because almost all of these crimes are presumptive probation and restitution may take years to recoup. We were extremely pleased we recovered 100 percent of the restitution for these victims as quickly as we did,” Gayoso said.
Gayoso singled out Deputy Jeremy Allen of the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department for investigating the case and praised the Jefferson County (Ark.) Sheriff’s Department for arresting the six defendants.
