Man gets 2½ years for food program theft

Cedric Tyrone Maxwell, who admitted stealing $1,272,775.14 from a child nutrition program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 2012 through mid-2014, was sentenced Friday to 2½ years in federal prison.

Maxwell claimed to operate several sites to feed children in Pine Bluff under a program aimed at providing meals to children in low-income areas. As a sponsor approved by the state Department of Human Services, which administered the federally funded program, he submitted numerous false claims for reimbursement, saying he provided food at seven sites in 2012, 13 sites in 2013 and nine sites in 2014. The claims resulted in directly deposited payments into his bank account from the USDA.

Two former employees of the state Department of Human Services later admitted approving people as sponsors even though they knew that neither the sponsors nor their purported feeding sites were legitimate.

Maxwell’s claims varied, but his indictment said he claimed to have an average daily attendance of 132 to 350 children at one of the feeding sites, while in reality no children were fed.

In determining Maxwell’s sentence Friday, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller said he reviewed the sentences of roughly 20 people who have been indicted in the scheme since late 2014. He ordered Maxwell to repay the full amount stolen, which is mandatory, and said that half of all the money Maxwell has available to him while in prison will go toward restitution.

Once released from prison, Maxwell must turn over 10 percent of his gross monthly income to pay the restitution.