FAYETTEVILLE — Two men convicted of defrauding investors in a failed Elm Springs wind farm project and the development of a wind turbine that was never built were sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution Tuesday.
Jody Douglas Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings were charged with nine counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering. A federal jury found both men guilty on all counts Sept. 3. The jury deliberated about three hours over two days before reaching a verdict.
Both Ridings, who conceived of the wind turbine, and Davis, Dragonfly’s CEO, were found guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud. Both were also found guilty of four counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting wire fraud.
Both men were also found guilty, jointly, of two counts of money laundering, and both were found guilty individually of another count each.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks sentenced Ridings, 64, of North Little Rock to eight years in prison, which was the lower end of the federal sentencing guideline range. He must report to prison by April 20.
Later Tuesday, Brooks sentenced Davis, 47, of Searcy to 15 years in prison, which was an upward departure from the sentencing guidelines. Davis was immediately taken into custody by U.S. Marshals.
“You were the business guy. Your role was to con people out of their money,” Brooks said. “You had to have known you were committing a horrible…
