Jason Carney sentenced to 16 years in Fayetteville fraud case
A federal judge in Fayetteville ordered Jason Carney to serve 16 years in prison on Oct. 14. The punishment follows a criminal conviction for defrauding donors through a local charitable organization.
Judge Timothy Brooks handed down the prison term alongside three years of supervised release. Officers took Carney into custody immediately in the courtroom. Carney must also pay $1,323,915 in restitution.
Both Carney and his wife, Lacey Carney, pleaded guilty to federal crimes in June. He pleaded guilty to four separate charges:
- One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
- One count of structuring
- Two counts of filing a false return
Brooks gave Carney five years each for the conspiracy and structuring charges. Carney received three years for each false return count.
The couple co-founded 2nd Milk in Springdale. Both were previously accused of defrauding donors through the nonprofit. Donors gave money to help orphaned children in Africa, federal court documents said.
The Carneys misused thousands of dollars in charitable donations, court documents stated. The couple reportedly used the money for personal travel, boat loans and routine living expenses. The government alleged donated funds paid for a cosmetic surgery procedure for one of them.
Earlier that day, Brooks sentenced Lacey Carney to three years in federal prison. Her sentence includes one year of supervised release. She pleaded guilty to one count of misprision of a felony. She admitted she concealed information about a federal crime. She was granted self-surrender one month from that court date.
A federal restitution order requires a defendant to repay victims for financial losses. Supervised release imposes monitoring rules on defendants after their prison terms conclude.
The criminal proceedings concluded this week in the federal court located in Fayetteville.
