Kade Holliday still faces Federal charges for his largest alleged thefts

Former Craighead County Clerk Kade Holliday pleaded guilty in court to several state charges today. As part of a plea agreement, he received a 10-year prison sentence.

On Monday, November 29, Jacob Kade Holliday entered guilty pleas on four counts of Theft of Property and one count of Forgery I. He received a 60-month prison sentence for the first two theft charges and a 120-month prison sentence for the forgery charge. Since the punishment will be concurrent – meaning at the same time and not stacking – Holliday’s overall sentence is 10-years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. As part of the agreement, two of the theft charges had their sentences of 72 months suspended, although that is an insignificant detail as they likely would have been served concurrently, as well. The maximum penalty under the law for the most serious charge, Forgery I, was 20 years in prison.

Holliday will also be forced to pay $13,963.22 to the sheriff’s office in restitution. The order said it is to be paid in monthly installments of $150 for 90 months beginning upon his release from state prison.

Holliday must report to the Craighead County Sheriff’s Office on December 10 by 5 PM to begin his sentence.

2020

The charges Holliday pleaded to were from a case where Holliday was charged with stealing from a local non-profit as well as forgery of ABC Applications, a statement from State Prosecuting Attorney Keith Chrestman said.

“This is one of the criminal cases against Jacob Kade Holliday,” Chrestman wrote. “This is not the case in which Mr. Holliday is charged with stealing $1.5 million from Craighead County. This is the case in which Holliday was charged with stealing about $13,000 from a local not-for-profit and forgery of ABC applications. The sentence is a significant upward departure for the offense. So I thank Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charlene, who prosecuted Holliday, for a successful outcome.”

As Chrestman’s statement said, Holliday still faces charges for his alleged embezzlement of approximately $1.5 million of Craighead County tax-payer monies. At least some of the charges Holliday faces are Federal, as well.

On or about June 25, 2020, Craighead County officials learned of suspicious activity in the payroll account for the county. The county judge and sheriff contacted the office of legislative audit to investigate. The sheriff’s office also requested Arkansas State Police open a criminal probe. Authorities said Holiday, as the Craighead County Clerk, personally received over $1 million dollars over a six month period.

Holliday also faces civil charges related to allegations that he duped several local businesses out of money.