James W. "Jim" Bolt was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison on Monday, and ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution. He was also fined $50,000.
Bolt pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in January. The sentencing guideline was between 51 and 71 months.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks, who took over the case from retiring Judge Robert Dawson in April, departed upward from those guidelines because of Bolt's three previous convictions for similar financial frauds.
Arkansas Business reported that Bolt could get a stiffer sentence in this week's issue. After reviewing the pre-sentence investigation report, Brooks wrote gave notice he was considering a harsher penalty for Bolt.
"In this case, Bolt has an extraordinarily lengthy criminal history going back more than forty years," Brooks wrote Friday.
Arkansas Business will update this story.
