The former Jonesboro accountant who has a $9 million civil judgment against him for embezzling money and pleaded guilty in January to one count of bank fraud was sentenced Tuesday to 60 months in federal prison.
Edward M. Cooper Jr. had admitted in a plea agreement to stealing more than $9 million from Roach Manufacturing Corp. of Trumann over a period of more than 20 years. Cooper had worked for the accounting firm Osborn & Osborn CPAs PLLC of Jonesboro, which had counted Roach as a client going back to 1969.
He was sentenced Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr.
“This defendant took advantage of a family business that had placed their trust in him,” Cody Hiland, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, said in a news release. “His years of deceit have finally caught up with him. This sentence demonstrates our office’s commitment to prosecuting those who cheat our citizens out of their hard-earned money.”
In addition to 60 months in prison, Marshall sentenced Cooper to two years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay $7.4 million in restitution.
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