Update:  May 7, 2012 – Additional Arrest Made 

     A second arrest has been made in the investigation involving the fraudulent sale of a 2002 84 x 16 foot boat that occurred on August 19, 2011.  SHAWN CONE was arrested and charged by warrant on April 20, 2012 in the case, and today his wife, 38 year old BETH ANN CONE of rural Mountain Home was also served with a warrant of arrest charging her with a Class B Felony count of Theft by Receiving.  Bank records obtained through subpoena by Sheriff’s Investigator Lt. Terry Johnson indicated that some of the monies received by the CONEs from the sale of the boat were withdrawn from the initial account the money had been deposited in and transferred by check into a separate account in which BETH ANN CONE writes and signs the majority of the checks on.  Evidence indicated that BETH ANN CONE was involved in arranging the sale of the boat, and that she profited from the sale of an asset in which she possessed no equity whatever.  

     She was booked into the Detention Center this afternoon and released after posting bond in the amount of $5,000.  She will appear in Circuit Court on May 24^th to answer the charge. 

ORIGINAL RELEASE:

     Felony charges of Defrauding a Secured Creditor and Theft of Property have been filed against a rural Mountain Home man, 40 year old SHAWN GREGORY CONE, after Sheriff’s Investigator Lt. Terry Johnson obtained a warrant today for CONE’s arrest.   

     On April 9, 2012, Lt. Johnson took a complaint report from a Mountain Home man who stated that he was approached by SHAWN CONE and his wife in the summer of 2011 about buying their houseboat, a 2002 year model 84 x 16 foot boat.  A selling price of $275,000 was agreed upon, and the sale and transaction took place on August 19, 2011 at which time SHAWN CONE accepted payment and issued a bill of sale to the buyer.   

    The buyer was approached on April 9, 2012 by a representative from Liberty Bank in Mountain Home asking questions about the boat purchase.  The buyer showed the bill of sale he received when he purchased the boat from SHAWN CONE.  At that point, the buyer was informed by the bank representative that SHAWN CONE and his wife had never paid off their loan on this boat in order to release the bank’s secured collateral interest on the boat.  Representatives from Liberty Bank then took measures to lock up and secure the boat, while the buyer came to the Sheriff’s Office to report the crime.  

     Lt. Johnson subpoenaed bank records, and as a result of the investigation the filing of criminal charges was sought through the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.  A warrant of arrest for SHAWN GREGORY CONE was subsequently issued, and it was served on him this afternoon. 

     SHAWN CONE has been incarcerated in the Detention Center with bond set at $275,000 cash by order of the Circuit Judge.  He will appear in Baxter County Circuit Court on April 26^th to answer the charges.  

     The investigation is continuing, and the filing of additional charges and an additional arrest are being considered. 

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff