Final Red River Army Depot Defendant Sentenced

TEXARKANA, Texas: The Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston announced that the court had sentenced the final defendant in a federal bribery, theft, and fraud scheme at Red River Army Depot (RRAD).

Jimmy Scarbrough, 71, of Hooks, pleaded guilty on August 22, 2022, to conspiring with others to defraud the United States, commit theft of government property, and commit bribery. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III sentenced him to 48 months in federal prison and ordered him to forfeit his 1951 Ford F-1 pickup truck and $229,000 cash.

In September of 2022, Jeffrey Harrison, a former RRAD vendor, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $300,000; Justin Bishop, a former RRAD vendor, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $55,000; Devin McEwin, a former RRAD official was sentenced to a five-year term of federal probation, including eight months of home confinement and ordered to forfeit $21,000. Louis Singleton, a former RRAD official, was sentenced to five years of federal probation, including eight months of home confinement, and was ordered to forfeit $18,000.

“Scarbrough sold his position of public trust for personal gain, all at the expense of the hard-working men and women at the RRAD who support our armed forces around the globe,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “We will continue vigorously uprooting corruption and fraud at the RRAD and the vendors that support its mission.”

“Today’s sentencing is a fitting end for those who conspire to defraud the United States Army,” said Special Agent in Charge L. Scott Moreland of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Field Office. “Army CID is proud to work with our federal law enforcement partners to protect the coffers of the U.S. government from those who break the law and threaten the readiness of our Service.”

“Today’s sentence concludes the tireless work and dedication of multiple agencies to hold a group of people accountable for attempting to defraud and profit off the United States government,” said FBI Dallas Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Dwyer. “The public can rest assured that we remain committed to aggressively pursuing anyone who uses government programs for personal gain.”

According to information presented in court, Scarbrough was the Equipment Mechanic Supervisor at the RRAD in Texarkana, Texas, a position he held from November 2001 until May 2019. Scarbrough directed over $7 million in purchases from RRAD to Harrison and Bishop through the government purchase card (GPC) program. To manipulate the GPC program, which ensures a competitive bidding process, Scarbrough told the vendors what to bid on, including the item, the quantity, and the price. By collecting fake bids from multiple vendors, Scarbrough could direct RRAD purchases to his select vendors, Harrison and Bishop, while maintaining the appearance of a competitive bidding process. In addition, Scarbrough defrauded the United States by falsely certifying that he had received the purchased items, causing the RRAD to pay his select vendors. However, the reality was that Scarborough instructed the vendors to refrain from delivering certain RRAD-purchased items.

Scarbrough demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from his selected vendors. Scarbrough accepted bribes in various forms, including receiving at least $116,000.00 in U.S. Postal Service money orders from Harrison. Scarbrough also had Harrison and Bishop purchase at least $135,000.00 in car parts or services for his hot rod collection, which included a red and black 1936 Ford Tudor, an electric green 1932 Ford Coupe, a cherry red 1951 Ford F-1 truck, and more. In addition, Scarbrough received more than $27,000.00 worth of firearms from Bishop, including rare Colt handguns and Wurfflein dueling pistols. Finally, Scarbrough directed at least $32,000.00 in donations to the Hooks Volunteer Fire Department while he was the Capitan of Operations. Scarbrough received more than $300,000.00 in bribe payments from Harrison and Bishop.

Scarbrough is one of many officials at RRAD who accepted bribes. For example, Devin McEwin took more than $21,000.00 in bribes from Harrison, including hunting trips, donations directed to the Annona Volunteer Fire Department, and the refurbishment of his 1964 Ford truck. Additionally, Louis Singleton accepted more than $18,000 in bribes from Harrison and others, including tickets to the Hall of Fame section of AT&T Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys football game against the New England Patriots. Singleton was the supervisor of the GPC program at the RRAD and was responsible for approving purchases requested by Scarbrough.

The U.S. Army CID, Major Procurement Fraud Field Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Dallas Division, Tyler Resident Agency, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan R. Hornok, Stephan Oestreicher, Andrew Stover, and Robert Wells prosecuted the case.