James Van Doren, appearing in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith this afternoon, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment as part of a disputed plea agreement.
The sentence was imposed for one count of money laundering in association with his financial dealings with Brandon Barber.
Barber, a former northwest Arkansas developer, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 65 months in prison for bank fraud and money laundering.
Judge P.K. Holmes III gave final approval to Van Doren’s plea agreement before sentencing, although Van Doren attempted to withdraw it earlier this year.
“I’m in a little bit of shock,” Van Doren said in an interview Monday with Arkansas Business. “If I have to go to jail over withdrawing my plea and declaring my innocence, well then that’s just what I’ll have to do.”
Van Doren said his guilty plea was untruthful and that he wrongly caved to pressure in signing the plea deal. The agreement dropped additional charges that included bankruptcy and wire fraud.
“I tried to do the best thing I could do under the circumstances,” Van Doren said. “I apologized to the judge for entering the plea agreement.”
The sentence also carries a $10,000 fine and two years of supervised release.
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