FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) — A former Arkansas state senator who pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud charges has been moved from a federal prison in Oklahoma to a halfway house ahead of his scheduled release next month.
Former Sen. Jake Files is serving an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to falsifying bids and pocketing thousands of dollars in state funds intended for construction of a sports complex in Fort Smith.
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 before his scheduled release on Nov. 11.
Files is a Republican from Fort Smith who served a dozen years in the Legislature before he resigned last year. He is among several Arkansas lawmakers who faced criminal charges in the past few years.
