An Austin, Arkansas woman will spend the next 48 months in federal prison after stealing more than $1.7 million from a federally funded non-profit organization serving indigenous people and others in need across Arkansas.
According to Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, 50-year-old Star Rana Jackson was sentenced Wednesday, June 3, 2026, by United States District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. after pleading guilty to wire fraud earlier this year.
Jackson worked for more than 10 years at the American Indian Center of Arkansas (AICA) and at one point served as Executive Director before being terminated in May 2025. Prosecutors said Jackson was the only person with access to the organization’s federal payment management system and used that access to illegally withdraw grant funds from federal agencies including the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services…