Oklahoma man charged with fraud, money laundering in NW Arkansas

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

An Oklahoma man charged with several counts of fraud and money laundering in northwest Arkansas recently made his initial appearance in federal court in Fayetteville.

Andrew Judkins, 41, now of Bixby, Okla., was charged Dec. 11 in a 12-county superseding indictment with various counts of money laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud and bank fraud, according to a statement from the office of U.S. Attorney Connor Eldridge.

Judkins is accused of defrauding the Bank of the Ozarks and First Security Bank, as well as two loan companies, Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. and GE Commercial Distribution Finance Corp., according to the news release.

Judkins, who operates a heavy equipment sales company, A. Camp Equipment, out of Fayetteville, obtained floor plan financing from the banks and lending companies to purchase equipment such as bulldozers, tractors and dump trucks, and did not repay any of the lenders when he sold the equipment himself, the news release states.

Instead, Judkins purportedly misled all four entities, giving them fake rental agreements that led them to believe the equipment wasn’t sold, only rented out, after Judkins pocketed the profit from the sale. He then purportedly spent the money on himself, including putting down a $200,000 payment on a house on Beaver Lake and buying a $47,000 car, according to the release.

“As alleged, this case involves a fraudulent scheme designed for personal gain,” Eldridge said in the statement. “We remain dedicated to pursuing fraud cases and holding accountable those who swindle local businesses and others through deceitful schemes.”