De Queen Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Conspiracy in Federal Opioid Case
A defendant in a federal opioid distribution conspiracy case that involved the Lansdell Family Clinic in De Queen pleaded guilty on November 5th to a single charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Tawnya Lee Lansdell appeared before Judge Susan Hickey in the Western District of Arkansas – Texarkana Division for a change of plea hearing that Lansdell requested.
In exchange for Lansdell’s guilty plea on count three of the superseding indictment, the government agreed to drop the other charges.
Lansdell owned and operated Lansdell Family Clinic in De Queen with several satellite clinics in Texarkana, Dierks and Lockesburg.
Lansdell was charged with five counts that fell into three categories. Lansdell was one of 13 defendants named in the superseding indictment that was filed on April 20th, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, evidence recovered during the course of the investigation probes that between April 2020 and November 2020, Lansdell and others conspired together to commit wire fraud. The defendants allegedly devised a scheme to obtain property or money “by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, according to the court documents.
According to Hickey, sentencing will be announced in four to six months. Lansdell will also pay restitution in the amount of $325,200 to small businesses and financial services and restitution in the amount of $260,246 to Medicare.
Lansdell will remain free on bail until sentencing. The penalty will not be more than 20 years in federal prison, however, Lansdell could receive probation only.
A pretrial conference is set for 9 am on Wednesday, November 13 for Lansdell’s co-defendants Wendy Gammon, Shelly Eastridge and Bonita Martin.
