Jordan Davis Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Steal Money from Community Action of Minneapolis

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the sentencing of JORDAN JAMES DAVIS, 36, to 24 months in prison for conspiring with his father, WILLIAM JAMES DAVIS, to steal funds from Community Action of Minneapolis (CAM). JORDAN DAVIS was convicted on June 28, 2016, after a jury trial. He was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.

As proven at trial, WILLIAM DAVIS used CAM funds to pay his son JORDAN DAVIS for a no-show job at a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop operated by CAM as a PartnerShop near the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis. Ben & Jerry’s waived its standard franchise fees so that CAM could operate the store to provide job and entrepreneurial training to underprivileged youth facing barriers to employment.

Between 2002 and October 2006, JORDAN DAVIS worked as the manager of the Ben & Jerry’s PartnerShop. In October 2006, JORDAN DAVIS obtained employment with the Minneapolis Police Department, and thereafter stopped working at the Ben & Jerry’s.

WILLIAM DAVIS instructed CAM’s fiscal staff to continue issuing JORDAN DAVIS the full paycheck he had been receiving for managing the ice cream shop. Even though JORDAN DAVIS never again worked a shift at the Ben & Jerry’s, from at least November 2006 until January 2011, he continued to receive his full paycheck, $1,320 biweekly. In addition to receiving paychecks for his no-show job, Jordan Davis also used a CAM-owned vehicle, made personal purchases using a Ben & Jerry's debit card, and received a $6,000 “bonus” check. During this same period, the Ben & Jerry’s store was consistently losing money, forcing CAM to transfer approximately $100,000 in federal grant funds each year in order to keep the doors open.

In April 2011, CAM closed the Ben & Jerry’s PartnerShop because CAM could no longer afford the rent for the store, and CAM terminated its youth job skills training program.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the United States Department of Energy Office of the Inspector General.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly A. Svendsen and Amber M. Brennan.

Defendant Information:

JORDAN JAMES DAVIS, 36
Ostego, Minn.

Convicted:
• Conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, 1 count
• Mail fraud, 5 counts

Sentenced:
• 24 months in prison
• Two years of supervised release
• Restitution in an amount to be determined