LITTLE ROCK- A Greene County Sheriff’s Lieutenant has been charged with stealing government funds related to a ruse money seizure in Paragould.
Cody Hiland, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced today the return of an indictment charging Allen Scott Pillow, 55, of Paragould, with theft of government property, specifically $30,400 of FBI funds. A federal grand jury returned the indictment Wednesday night.
Pillow was arrested on a federal complaint on Tuesday, and was initially arraigned and then released by United States Magistrate Judge Patricia S. Harris on Wednesday. The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Billy Roy Wilson, who has set arraignment on the indictment for Nov. 14, 2019 at 2 p.m.
According to the complaint, on Monday the FBI conducted a ruse narcotics investigation which led to the seizure of FBI funds by Pillow, who is in a leadership position within the narcotics unit of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. As part of the ruse, agents left a backpack containing $76,000 in FBI funds in a vehicle left in a Lowe’s parking lot. Believing that he was assisting out-of-state police officers, Pillow arrived in the parking lot and seized the backpack. Pillow told the out-of-state officers that he located $45,600 in the backpack, and later Pillow checked $45,600 into evidence. According to the complaint, on Tuesday, while executing a search warrant, officers located money from the missing $30,400 in Pillow’s pants’ pocket, at which time Pillow was arrested.
The statutory penalty for theft of government property is not more than 10 years’ imprisonment, not more than a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Arkansas State Police, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin O’Leary.
A complaint and indictment only contain allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
