Bentonville man sentenced for role in Publishers Clearing House scam

Gary Parent, 50, of 508 N.W. Bella Vista Road in Bentonville, is shown in this photo.
Gary Parent, 50, of 508 N.W. Bella Vista Road in Bentonville, is shown in this photo.

BENTONVILLE — A Bentonville man was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to scamming thousands of dollar from people by claiming they had won prizes in a phony Publishers Clearing House giveaway.

Gary Wayne Parent pleaded guilty Monday to theft of property. He was arrested Jan. 14.

The arrest stemmed from an investigation by Bentonville police after they received a complaint in June 2015. A woman in Story, Ark., reported that her husband had been scammed out of money, according to court documents.

The woman reported that her husband received a telephone call claiming he had won a prize package from Publishers Clearing House and told him to send $495.15 through Wal-Mart to Deanna Clark in Bentonville, according to a probable cause affidavit. The man also sent $200 to Clark through Wal-Mart and also sent $300 to her through Western Union, according to the affidavit.

Bentonville police were able to identify several other people who had sent money after receiving telephone calls concerning winning prizes.

A woman in Mobile, Ala., reported she was told that she had won $3.3 million and a new Mercedes-Benz, but to collect the prizes she had to send $100 for state taxes and $299 for fees, the affidavit states. The woman sent the money via a MoneyGram from Wal-Mart, according to court documents. The woman was later contacted by a man named calling himself Don and told that she needed to send another $250 to Jamaica for Jamaican federal taxes, according to court documents.

Police discovered that Parent received $13,347.17 from 14 different people across the country, according to court documents. Deanna Clark received $700 from 4 different people via Wal-Mart, the affidavit states.

Police obtained documents from Western Union showing that from April 2015 to December 2015 that Parent received $1,158.99. Sandra Clark received $1,250 from a person in Missouri and Deanna Clark received $4,989.14, according to court documents.

Circuit Judge Robin Green accepted the plea agreement and Parent’s guilty pleas.

Parent must also abide by a suspended sentence for seven years after his release from prison.

He must pay $1,920 in court costs and $17,790 in victim restitution.

Bonnie Clark, Deanna Clark and Sandra Clark were also arrested, but their cases have not been resolved.

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