ATLANTA, Ga. - A Maud, Texas, couple entered pleas of not guilty Friday before a federal judge in Georgia to an 11-count criminal indictment accusing them of conspiring to defraud a timber investment company of more than $4 million.
James Thompson, 46, and April Thompson, 41, appeared Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Bly for arraignment in a federal courtroom in Atlanta, Ga. Both husband and wife pleaded not guilty. The court appointed lawyers for both.
Count one of the indictment accuses the couple of conspiracy to commit mail fraud beginning in 2011.
April Thompson managed accounts for Kingwood Forestry Services, a company that served as a consultant to Forestry Investment Associates.
Kingwood Forestry Services maintains offices in Texarkana, Texas, Monticello, Arkansas and Arkadelphia, Arkansas, according to the company's website.
April Thompson allegedly used her knowledge of the workings of both companies to submit phony invoices claiming James Thompson performed forestry management work for FIA clients which he never did.
"For instance, in December 2018, April Thompson sent an invoice to FIA for $9,832.50 that falsely claimed James Thompson had performed "road grading" for 103.5 hours at one of FIA's timber properties. Both April and James Thompson knew that James Thompson did not perform 'road grading' - or any work - for FIA, Kingwood, or any of the FIA timber properties," the indictment states. "As the Kingwood accounts manager, April Thompson knew how much money FIA had budgeted for each timber property. The defendants used this knowledge to keep any fraudulent invoices within the allotted budget, thereby allowing them to escape detection."
The second through 11th counts of the indictment accuse the couple of mail fraud related to checks sent from FIA to James Thompson.
"For instance, in October 2018, the defendants fraudulently billed FIA for a total of approximately $332,365 for services purportedly rendered by James Thompson. The defendants then spent much of the fraudulently obtained funds on their trucking companies and for their own personal benefit, including by making purchases at retail stores, making substantial cash withdrawals, and paying for the installation of a hot tub and pool at their personal residence," the indictment states.
FIA filed a civil suit in May in Texarkana, Texas, federal court. FIA alleges the Thompsons submitted over 200 phony invoices resulting in 236 checks being sent to James Thompson totaling $4,097,666.65 from 2011 to April 2019.
Both the civil and criminal cases remain pending. Trial in the civil case is scheduled for June next year before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III. A date for trial in the criminal case has not been set.