David Clay Fowlkes, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas
A Northwest Arkansas man has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business. Richard Harold Stone, 77, was also ordered to pay $725,558 in restitution and will face three years of supervised release following his prison term. The sentencing took place on February 20 under the supervision of Judge Timothy L. Brooks at the United States District Court in Fayetteville.
Stone waived indictment by a grand jury and pleaded guilty to conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business in Arkansas. He held positions as President or Chief Officer of several businesses registered with the Arkansas Secretary of State, including Partex Oman Corp., Renewable Energy Campus Arkansas, Inc., Stonetek Global Corp., and Tires 2 Energy, LLC. Additionally, he was associated with Environmental Energy & Finance Corp., a Delaware corporation. These companies were purportedly focused on developing technology to convert waste materials into fuel sources but were not registered as money transmitting businesses as required by state law.
Between November 2020 and March 2021, Stone received over $600,000 through bank accounts linked to these entities from applications made for Paycheck Protection Program loans, Economic Impact Disaster Loans, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance on behalf of unsuspecting victims. The funds were quickly transferred via wire transfer to locations such as Berne, Switzerland; London; New York City; Chennai; and Mumbai.
At the end of the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Stone was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas. The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter Bridges is prosecuting.
