FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Two Arkansas men have been sentenced to federal prison for fraud and money laundering related to a proposed wind farm project in Elm Springs, Arkansas, that was never built.
Jody Douglas Davis, 47, of Searcy was sentenced to 12 years and Phillip Vincent Ridings, 64, to eight years. The two, who had pleaded innocent, were convicted in September.
Both were also ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution during Tuesday’s sentencing, prosecutors said.
The two formed companies in Springdale, Arkansas, and Frisco, Texas, and fraudulently told investors they would develop a new wind turbine that was approved for a $10 million grant, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say Davis also failed to tell investors he was convicted in 2009 in Oklahoma of wire fraud and money laundering.
“These defendants developed a scheme for the purposed of stealing large sums of money from innocent investors,” according to U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes.
