A second indictment has been unsealed in an Arkansas federal court involving the survivor of an oil rig explosion and an allegedly fraudulent will.
Donna Christina Peterson Herring, of Camden, Ark., was initially indicted by a federal grand jury in November for allegedly creating a fake will leaving the estate of Matthew Seth Jacobs, who received a large settlement after being injured in the 2010 explosion of Deep Water Horizon oil rig, to her daughter, Jordan Alexandra Peterson, who goes by Alex. While Herring was the only defendant named in the November indictment in an El Dorado federal court, search warrant documents filed in a Texarkana federal court and a civil lawsuit filed in Ouachita County, Ark., Circuit Court implicate Alexandra Peterson and Herring's sister and brother-in-law, Marion Diane Kinley, who goes by Diane, and John Wayne Kinley Jr., in a conspiracy to defraud Jacobs' rightful heir, a son who was 17 when Jacobs died, of all but $50,000 of an estate worth nearly $2 million.
A superseding indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses Herring, Peterson, Diane Kinley and John Kinley of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The second count of the indictment alleges Herring, Diane Kinley and John Kinley committed wire fraud. Count three accuses Herring, Diane Kinley and John Kinley of aggravated identity theft and count four accuses Herring of money laundering.
In May 2012, Jacobs used a Century 21 real estate agency in Camden, Ark., to help him purchase a home and several investment properties. It was through the real estate agency that Jacobs became acquainted with Donna Peterson Herring, a real estate agent who assisted in Jacobs' purchase of a home just a few blocks from her own.
Herring allegedly became more involved in Jacobs' life by bringing him into her husband's pest control business, having her then-teenage daughter work at his home as a housekeeper and also having Jacobs' former fiance take photos of the daughter for a 2013 local beauty pageant.
After Jacobs' engagement ended in 2013, Herring allegedly encouraged a romantic relationship between her daughter, Alex Peterson, and Jacobs-despite her daughter being a minor and 16 years younger than Jacobs. Peterson and Jacobs allegedly became engaged sometime in 2014 but never married. According to the civil suit, Jacobs was dating someone else when he died in a car accident Jan. 19, 2015, at age 34. At the time, Peterson was allegedly living in rental property that Jacobs owned in Arkadelphia, Ark., while she attended Henderson University and still had access to Jacobs' home in Camden.
"On the night of the fatal auto wreck, the police report indicated that Matthew was driving on a 'dry,' 'clear,' and 'straight,' road that was only a few minutes from his home," states the complaint in the civil suit filed in Ouachita County by Little Rock lawyer Bruce Tidwell on behalf of the estate.
The police report indicates that Jacobs veered to the left and crossed oncoming traffic before crashing into a tree.
"The police report also indicated that Matthew's vehicle, 'showed no signs of braking prior to impact,'" the civil complaint states.
Following his death, Matthew Jacobs' then 17-year-old son, Jordan Jacobs, and Matthew Jacobs' brother, Lance Reed, allegedly searched his home and gun safe for a last will and testament, but were unable to find one.
Donna Herring allegedly claimed to know of a sealed envelope bearing the initials MJ that was reportedly discovered in Matthew Jacobs' gun safe at his Camden home days after it had been searched by Matthew Jacobs' son and brother. Herring met with Matthew Jacobs' brother at her office Jan. 25, 2015, six days after the fatal crash, and told him about the sealed envelope. Herring convinced Reed that the envelope had to be opened in a lawyer's presence.
During the meeting, "Donna Herring offered to involve Reed in a scheme to forge a life insurance policy in the name of the decedent, to which Reed declined," a search warrant affidavit filed in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas states.
The envelope contained a last will and testament that gave the bulk of the estate to Peterson and $50,000 to Matthew Jacobs' son. The allegedly fraudulent will, which bore the signatures of Diane Kinley and John Wayne Kinley as witnesses, named Peterson as executor of the estate even though she was a minor and legally ineligible to serve in such a capacity at the time it was purportedly created. The Kinleys' signatures and Matthew Jacobs' allegedly forged signature were all dated May 13, 2014.
The allegedly phony will identified Peterson as "fiance" and directed that Matthew Jacobs be cremated and the ashes given to Peterson. But Matthew Jacobs had already been buried when the allegedly fake will surfaced.
Because Peterson was ineligible to serve as executor, Matthew Jacobs' brother served as executor of the large estate. In November 2015, Peterson was awarded nearly $1 million in funds as well as real estate and other property, such as boats and ATVs, while Matthew Jacobs' son received $50,000 for his education and a $250,000 disbursement from a life insurance policy.
"On or about March 7, 2016, (Donna) Herring used funds fraudulently derived from the estate to purchase a 2012 Lexus RX350 for her own personal use," according to the original and superseding indictments.
In April 2016, a lawyer representing Jordan Jacobs contacted the FBI. The lawyer told investigators that the will had actually been created Jan. 24, 2015, five days after Matthew Jacobs' death, by Donna Herring using forms purchased with the Kinley's bank account on FormSwift.com, according to the Texarkana search warrant for Matthew Jacobs' iCloud account. Herring allegedly created the will on a computer at her Century 21 office.
A copy of the fake will faxed Jan. 27, 2015, from Peterson's lawyer's office to Jordan Jacobs allegedly differs from the copy eventually filed with the court in Ouachita County in the following ways: The faxed copy had handwritten page numbers while the court copy had none; the witness signatures were changed to include dates; and, "the signature of the decedent was not the same," according to the search warrant.
Donna Herring, Alex Peterson, Donna Herring's husband Doug Herring, Diane Kinley, John Kinley and Donna Herring's lawyer were interviewed July 13 by the FBI. During her interview, Donna Herring allegedly admitted to creating the faxed copy and the court copy of the phony will and placing it in the gun safe.
"Furthermore, while the truthfulness of Donna Herring's statements to law enforcement remain in question, Donna Herring claimed to have found and subsequently destroyed descendant's actual last will and testament after his death," the search warrant states.
John Kinley allegedly admitted during his interview that Donna Herring brought the fake will to him and his wife to sign after Matthew Jacobs died. Diane Kinley allegedly gave statements to investigators perceived as false before asking for a lawyer. Peterson allegedly admitted that she knew her mother had created the phony will and placed it in the gun safe. Peterson was also asked about Matthew Jacobs' iPhone, which went missing after his death.
"Peterson stated that she 'wiped' the SIM card of decedent's iPhone after his death and no longer had the phone," the search warrant states.
Investigators were still searching for a copy of Matthew Jacobs' actual will when they acquired the search warrant for his iCloud account in September. The search warrant notes that Jacobs' life insurance policy indicated that the proceeds of any claim should go to his estate and referenced an actual will.
The civil suit names as defendants: Donna Herring, Peterson, Doug Herring, John Kinley, Diane Kinley and Dennis Davis, a family friend who was present when the allegedly phony will was discovered.
All the defendants have filed answers to the civil complaint denying wrongdoing. While most of the defendants used lawyers, Davis answered on his own behalf. Davis claims Donna Herring called him and asked him to come to Matthew Jacobs' house to be an "outside" witness to the safe's opening and to take photos of the safe closed and opened. Davis claims Donna Herring told him her lawyer advised her to have a disinterested party present. Davis' response states that Peterson and Donna Herring were at the house when he arrived and that Doug Herring arrived a short time later.
Davis said he did as he was asked because Donna Herring is a lifelong family friend who has done many favors for him and his wife. Davis said he took the sealed envelope to his car and delivered it to Donna Herring's lawyer without any knowledge of what was inside and without any compensation of any kind from anyone for his actions. Davis is asking to be dropped from the suit.
The government is seeking forfeiture of numerous real properties, assets such as cars, vehicles, boats and trailers, and funds deposited in bank accounts controlled by Donna Herring and Peterson which came from Jacobs' estate. The defendants in the criminal case have entered not guilty pleas to all charges and each is free on unsecured bonds of $5,000. All four defendants are scheduled for trial April 4 before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in the El Dorado Division of the Western District of Arkansas. All face the possibility of time in federal prison.