Friday, January 17, 2014
A Rogers scam artist pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to fraud for claiming property that did not belong to him, under the guise of running a cancer treatment center.
James W. Bolt, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of money laundering in a plea bargain with prosecutors. The plea in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in Fort Smith was taken by Judge Robert Dawson.
“This case involves serious fraud, including forgery and a course of deceitful conduct designed to steal money from others,” U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge said in a news release. “Today, defendant Bolt has been convicted and held accountable for this criminal conduct. Our office remains committed to pursuing and prosecuting fraud, wherever it manifests itself.”
Legal Lingo
Plea Bargain
A negotiated agreement between a criminal defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant agrees to plead “guilty” or “no contest” to some crimes, along with possible conditions, in return for reduction of the severity of the charges, dismissal of some of the charges, or some other benefit to the defendant. Plea bargaining helps save the time and expense of trials by allowing the prosecutor to obtain guilty pleas in cases that might otherwise go to trial.
Source: USLEGAL.COM
As part of the plea bargain, eight other counts against Bolt will be dismissed.
The FBI launched an investigation into suspicious activity involving Bolt’s company, Situs Cancer Research Center in August 2012. The investigation revealed Bolt had committed mail and wire fraud by preparing and sending fraudulent documents containing forged signatures and false authentication features to various entities and individuals in order to persuade them to send him unclaimed property, money and other assets from defunct companies held by the state of California for Community Medical Group of Corona, Inc.
The indictment says Bolt caused a check of $317,000 to be sent to his company. Bolt later wrote a $24,000 check using the fraudulently obtained money.
The government contends Bolt took more than $2.5 million in total from Community Medical Group and at least two other companies.
Community Medical Group had never authorized any transfer of its property to Situs.
Bolt faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the fraud charges and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for money laundering. Bolt faces fines of up to $250,000 per count, or a fine of not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved.
Bolt’s sentence will be determined by factors such as his criminal record and role in the offense.
Bolt is being held without bond in the Washington County Detention Center. He will be sentenced at a later date.
Bolt agreed to pay full restitution to all victims, including those in the counts that will be dismissed. The judge will determine the final amount of restitution. Bolt agreed to help identify any assets that were transferred to third parties.
Bolt was acquitted of federal wire fraud and money fraud in 2007. He and three co-defendants were accused of hiding a $325,000 kickback on a $2.5 million investment into Xenavex, an oleander plant derivative, that would have been marketed as a cancer treatment through Shimoda-Atlantic, Bolt’s company at the time, according to a federal court filing.
Bolt was convicted of theft in Washington County in 1992 and sentenced to three years. Bolt was on probation in connection with a June 1985 sentence in Oklahoma where he was convicted of two counts of mail fraud and making false statements to a federally insured bank.
In Thursday’s plea agreement, Bolt agreed to forfeit three properties prosecutors said were purchased with money derived from mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The properties are 1222 W. Poplar St., 1204 W. Poplar and 303 S. Rife St., all in Rogers.
Bolt also forfeited two mobile medical units, a box truck, an Airstream recreational vehicle, two Volvo sport utility vehicles, a Suburban-style vehicle, a Toyota pickup, four airplanes, $8,900 cash, $111,971 from a bank account and other items.
Bolt was the executive director of Situs Cancer Research Center in Rogers. FBI agents searched the clinic at 1222 W. Poplar and a house at 1204 W. Poplar owned by Situs and Bolt’s residence June 27.
The center did not reopen after Bolt’s arrest Aug. 29.
A website for Situs Oncology said it was “a nonprofit community health resource serving any cancer, hematology or chronic viral disease patient in Northwest Arkansas who has been denied medical treatment as a result of inability to pay for primary oncology, hematology or chronic viral disease care.”
The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glen Hines, Kyra Jenner, and Benjamin Wulff prosecuted the case.