Owner of Mountain Pure Water Faces Federal Fraud Charges

John B. Stacks, the owner of a Little Rock based bottled water company, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on three counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of submitting a false claim to the Small Business Administration (SBA), and four counts of making a false statement.  If convicted, Stacks faces maximum penalties of up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charges, up to 10 years for money laundering, up to five years for submitting a false claim, and up to five years for making a false statement.

According to the indictment, Stacks obtained a SBA disaster relief loan in 2009 in the amount of $703,300 for damages to Mountain Pure Water equipment that occurred during a tornado on May 2, 2008.  He allegedly claimed that more than $500,000 worth of equipment was destroyed when the tornado struck his farm in Damascus.

The wire fraud and money laundering charges stem from three transfers from the SBA to Stacks’ general account at Home Bank of Arkansas in Greenbriar.  The false claim and false statement charges are related to documents and statements that Stacks submitted to the SBA in order to obtain the loan.

This case was investigated by the SBA Office of Inspector General and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Jegley and First Assistant United States Attorney Pat Harris are prosecuting the case.