An El Dorado, Ark., couple who stole over $800,000 worth of timber in Louisiana and Arkansas was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 11, to the maximum amount of jail time allowed by law for their convictions on five felony counts including conspiracy and mail fraud.

Danny and Charlotte Washington of 3047 Strong Highway, El Dorado, Ark., were each sentenced by Federal District Judge Robert Dawson in Hot Springs, Ark., to 87 months in jail and three years supervised release. The Washingtons could have received a sentence of anywhere from 70 to 87 months under federal sentencing guidelines.

"We are pleased to see justice prevail in the sentencing of the Washingtons, anything less than the maximum penalty would have been unfair to the victims of this travesty," Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom said.

"The judge carefully considered testimony from victims in this case and handed down a stiff penalty," Odom added. "Although many of these families will never forget this ordeal, knowing that the Washingtons are behind bars for more than seven years and cannot steal from others will offer some peace of mind."

In addition to jail time, the Washingtons were ordered to pay a $400 special assessment for the felony counts and restitution of $817,885.33 to victims of their scheme.

The Washingtons, operating under the company names Southern Resources, Arkansas Timber Corporation, C & D Storage and Washington Timber Company, were convicted in February for stealing timber from nine parishes in Louisiana and 11 counties in Arkansas. The Louisiana parishes are: Caddo, Bossier, Grant, DeSoto, Bienville, Jackson, Sabine, Webster and Claiborne.

Victims of their crimes were absentee landowners from 13 states, which include Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Charlotte Washington would contact the out-of-state landowners and encourage them to sign timber contracts with one of the Washington's companies. Once the timber was cut, some landowners never received payment for their trees and others received only partial payment.

"Under old state laws, some prosecutors saw the partial payment as a civil act not a criminal act and this hindered our investigations," Odom noted. "Because we now have the `Prompt Payment' law in Louisiana, these problems will be alleviated and landowners will now get their full payment within 30 days of logging activities."

The Washington case was investigated by Enforcement Supervisors Jim Baldwin and Ben Clark and Enforcement Manager Doyle Volentine of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Special Agent Scott Falls of the FBI in Hot Springs, Ark., and the Arkansas Forestry Commission. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner prosecuted the case.