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Convicted Ex-Arkansas Senator Released From Prison, Back In Fort Smith

FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) — A former Arkansas state senator who pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud charges has been released from prison. Former state s...

FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) — A former Arkansas state senator who pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud charges has been released from prison.

Former state senator Jake Files is serving the remainder of his sentence from home until his release date on Nov. 11.

Files resigned from office Feb. 9 after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges regarding the construction of the River Valley Sports Complex, which was never completed.

Files was moved from the prison in El Reno, Oklahoma, to a halfway house in Little Rock.

Files is a Republican from Fort Smith who served a dozen years in the Legislature before he resigned last year.

While serving on the state senate, Files used his office to obtain government money known as General Improvement Funds (GIF) through fraudulent means and personal gain, according to court documents.

Files owned and managed FFH Construction, a real estate development and construction in Fort Smith.

During 2012 Files and an associate proposed an athletic complex for Fort Smith. It would be called River Valley Sports Complex. Those with the city agreed to fund about $1.6 million of the project and gave $1 million to Files. However, the project was never finished.

It was recently announced that the City of Fort Smith would sell two parcels of land at Chaffee Crossing where the unfinished River Valley Sports Complex is located.

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