Lu Hardin Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Lu Hardin, former president of UCA, pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Little Rock to a charge of wire fraud and a charge of money laundering, according to a report published by the Arkansas Times today.
Sentencing on the charges hasn't been scheduled yet but Hardin could face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the two charges combined. Hardin was required to surrender his passport but was not jailed, the published report stated.
Hardin resigned abruptly Friday from his position as president of Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla. He had been president of the university since 2009, after leaving UCA amid controversy.
Pat Harris, the federal prosecutor in the case, said the charges stem from a fraudulent letter Hardin used in 2008 to get $300,000 in deferred compensation earlier than scheduled. Hardin allegedly dictated a letter to his secretary recommending the bonus that contained the signatures of three top UCA administrators who later said they didn't sign the letter.
The board of trustees paid Hardin the bonus, which is the basis of the wire fraud charge. Hardin bought cashier's checks with the money, which is the basis of the money-laundering charge.
Harris said Hardin used the money to pay debts in other states. No further details of those debts are available.
Lu and Mary Hardin at the federal courthouse in Little Rock this morning. Photo courtesy of Arkansas Times.
Hardin was president of UCA from 2002 until 2008 when he was forced to resign because of the controversy over the letter. Hardin also is a former state senator, former head of the state Department of Higher Education and an unsuccessful candidate for U.S. Senate.
Hardin was in court today with his wife, Mary, and his son, Scooter.
A federal grand jury has been hearing testimony about the charges for months. You can read the actual court document detailing the charges against Hardin here.
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Don't be fooled fellow students, even though Hardin is gone, the good ol' boy system still runs UCA. I'm not talking about Meadors, I don't know much about him, but all the admins and profs who are still lording their superiority over students and shoving their 'non-bias' beliefs down our throats... Go to UCA if you want to be a cardboard copy of your pretentious professors without actually having to go get your doctoral degree. This school doesn't create true intellectuals or independent thinkers... I'm beginning to wonder if there are any universities left that do.
Nice to see that Lovel doesn't trust his students enough to write the big-time stories.
It was more a matter of time than talent. Thanks for reading The Fountain.
Chuck- It was an issue of timeliness. The story needed to be published today and as soon as possible. We, as a class, came to the consensus that none of the students would have time to publish it quickly enough, as all of us were in class at the time.
-Allyson McNabb
Staff Writer
Chuck - You really want to talk bad about Jim Lovel? Show some respect for someone who is much more of a respected journalist than you could ever amount to!
Hey Chuck- How about putting your cynism and misguided sense of humor where your mouth is?
The fountain can always use another reporter, since you see to feel your credibility warrants you the right to jump in, lets see what you got.
It's easy to whip out a one line clever comments, so you want to prove you got something to back that up?
Cmon man, whip it out,
I dare you
Chuck!!! That's a good one Julian Spivey. Mannnn up you don't have to hide behind a Chuck to make a statement. Mr. Lovel doesn't need to write stories for the Fountain. He has dang good writers and editors. I care about your opinions, negative or positive just Mann up Chuck. ps. Keep reading Julian
The fact that "chuck" is really Julian Spivey just brightened my day!!! lol
Julian Spivey always left a name with criticisms in the past, so it's not fair to attack someone with no proof.
I agree with Marcus Ester that Mr. Lovel doesn't need to write stories for the Fountain because there's a staff of capable, learning students. A professor / advisor should trust their students enough to handle even the biggest stories.
Regardless, the conversation really should end about this, it's just not that big of a deal either way you look at it.