Former State Treasurer Martha Shoffner Charged with Mail Fraud

LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and David T. Resch, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that new charges were handed down by a federal grand jury charging Martha Anne Shoffner, age 69, of Newport with 10 counts of mail fraud.

The second superseding indictment alleges that Shoffner used $9,800 of campaign funds from her re-election campaign for treasurer of the state of Arkansas for personal expenses. According to the indictment, campaign checks were mailed for payments to a personal Wells Fargo credit card from November 5, 2010 through October 9, 2011. Individual checks ranged from $200 to $5,000. The charges to the credit card included clothing, cosmetics, and other personal expenses.

The new counts of mail fraud against Shoffner are in addition to the previous six counts of extortion under color of official right, one count of attempted extortion, and seven counts of receipt of a bribe by an agent of a state government receiving federal funds. Trial is set for March 3, 2014, before United States District Judge J. Leon Holmes.

The charges stem from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s ArkTrust Public Corruption Task Force. The ArkTrust Public Corruption Task Force is composed of FBI agents and task force officers from the Arkansas State Police Department, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, and the Little Rock Police Department. If you think you see public corruption contact the public corruption hotline at (501) 221-8200.

Mail fraud carries a possible sentence of not more than 20 years’ imprisonment and/or not more than a $250,000 fine with not more than three years of supervised release.

An indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.