A Gassville man accused of receiving unemployment benefits while failing to report wages from part-time employment has pleaded guilty in Baxter County Circuit Court.
Shannon Porter, 55, entered the plea on Oct. 19, avoiding a trial that had been scheduled for this week. Porter was sentenced to six years of probation and ordered to pay $8,098 in restitution.
According to court documents, Porter applied for and received nearly $5,400 in unemployment compensation from Jan. 23, 2021, through April 17, 2021. During that time, he was earning wages from part-time work at a Mountain Home grocery store but did not report the income to the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (ADWS). The lack of reporting resulted in overpayments exceeding what he was legally eligible to receive, court filings state.
The restitution amount includes the overpayment, penalties, and interest. An affidavit indicated that ADWS conducted the initial investigation into the alleged fraud. The agency referred the case to the Baxter County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 12, 2024, just months before the statute of limitations would have expired.
Under Arkansas law, charges of theft of public benefits must be filed within three years of the last benefit payment. While the unemployment benefits were disbursed in 2021, delays in filing and multiple continuances requested by Porter's defense extended the legal process.
Porter, who had been free on a $15,000 bond, will remain under supervised probation as a condition of his sentence.