LR man gets 21 months for falsely claiming disability
A Little Rock man who federal agents said operated a strip club and brothel out of his Wolfe Street home was sentenced Wednesday to nearly two years in prison for making a false statement to the Social Security Administration.
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker sentenced Gary Lemond Shorter, 61, to 21 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $15,208 in restitution to the Social Security Administration. Shorter pleaded guilty on April 28. Baker also imposed a $500 fine.
According to U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer and Robert Feldt, special agent in charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, an investigation revealed that Shorter operated a brothel out of his home, which was known as “the Cat House,” while he also received Social Security benefits that were based on false representations that he couldn’t work.
Shorter hosted “shows” at “the Cat House” where he charged $10 admission fees and sold alcohol to patrons, according to a news release from Thyer and Feldt. They said women would strip inside the house for the patrons and were required to pay Shorter a fee from their earnings.
The upstairs area of Shorter’s home was known as the “VIP area,” where women would engage in sex acts in exchange for money paid by the VIP room patrons, Thyer and Feldt said in the release.
While federal sentencing guidelines recommend a range from no imprisonment to up to six months in prison, “based on the egregiousness of Shorter’s conduct, the United States requested a higher sentence,” the release said.
Thyer called the longer-than-recommended sentence appropriate, noting that Shorter “not only took advantage of the Social Security Administration, but he benefited from the sexual exploitation of multiple women.”
Federal statutes cap prison time for the offense at 5 years and allow for a fine of up to $250,000.
“The Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, will vigorously investigate individuals committing fraud against Social Security programs,” Feldt said. “This case represents cooperation among federal and local agencies to bring to justice those who take advantage of government programs and innocent victims.”
Baker ordered Shorter, who was represented by Little Rock attorney Richard Mays Jr., to report to prison by Feb. 20.
Shorter was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 2, 2015, on two charges of making false statements to the Social Security Administration in May 2015 reports documenting the status of his disability. One of the charges was dropped as part of Shorter’s plea agreement.
In addition to the Little Rock office of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, the FBI investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Bryant.