Three Arkansas women were indicted by the grand jury on charges related to a conspiracy to steal money from a federal program designed to feed hungry children.
Gladys Elise King, 34, of England; Tonique D. Hatton, 37, of North Little Rock; and Jacqueline D. Mills, 39, of Helena, were arrested Thursday, said Arkansas’ Eastern District U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer, who announced the unsealed indictment during a news conference Thursday afternoon.
The indictment, returned last week by a federal grand jury, charges the three with conspiracy to fraudulently obtain U.S. Department of Agriculture program funds. Mills also is charged with 41 counts tied to wire fraud, paying bribes and money laundering. King is facing six counts and Hatton faces 28 counts of accepting bribes.
Thyer said more charges could be coming.
“I anticipate that in the next few months several more individuals, sponsor organizations and quite possibly DHS employees or former employees are going to receive a great deal of scrutiny,” he said.
King, Hatton and Mills might face additional charges, Thyer said.
In statement, DHS Director John Selig said his department notified investigators more than a year ago about its suspicions of Mills. He said DHS has been cooperating with investigators since.
“It’s extremely disappointing to learn that people were reportedly cheating a program that feeds hungry children, especially in a state that has one of the highest rates of childhood hunger in the country,” Selig said in a news release. “We appreciate all the work to help us root out the bad actors so other providers can continue to ensure kids have adequate food when they aren’t in school.”
The charges stem from the two programs the USDA funds and is administered by DHS in Arkansas: the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program and the Summer Food Service Program.
Thyer said the idea behind both of the federally funded programs is “children should not go hungry.” And the programs pay for up to three meals and snacks per day for children who qualify and is designed to complement the free and reduced school program during the year.
Between August 2011 and August 2014, Mills through her organizations, R&J At-Risk After School, King Solomon and Lamar’s Angel Haven, received more than $2.5 million from the program.
Mills allegedly, though, was bribing King and Hatton “and possibly others,” Thyer said.
“The scheme itself was fairly straightforward,” he said. “Gladys King and Toni Hatton were two of the employees who worked in the special nutrition program within DHS.”
He said they were responsible for approving the budgets submitted by sponsor organizations.
“They were the gatekeepers, who had the primary, frontline responsibility to make sure that federal money designated to feed children actually fed those children,” Thyer said. “Unfortunately, as alleged by the grand jury, Ms. King and Ms. Hatton were receiving bribes.”
In checks alone, they received nearly $250,000, Thyer said. But some of that money came from an unnamed “Co-conspirator A,” according to the indictment.
In exchange for the bribe, Mills received prompt approval with her budgets and reimbursements.
“Ms. Mills could certainly afford to pay that bribe money,” Thyer said.
Of the money Mills received for the program, nearly $1 million was transferred to her personal accounts, Thyer said.
Miller was “either greatly inflating the number of eligible meals served to children and/or simply not serving them at all,” Thyer said.
Thyer said the investigation is ongoing.
The penalty for wire fraud is up to 20 years in federal prison and up to 10 years on the other charges.
The three defendants were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.