Camden resident has court date on fraud charges

CAMDEN — The Camden News has learned that federal court documents were unsealed this month in Texarkana and El Dorado regarding a civil lawsuit pending in Ouachita County that involves Camden residents. The documents shed light on a case involving the survivor of an oil rig explosion and an allegedly-fraudulent will which involves millions on dollars.

The charges relate to a will that was supposedly written by Matthew Seth Jacobs before his death in January of 2015.

The civil suit filed in August by Jacobs’ estate names six defendants: Donna Peterson Herring, Doug Herring, Jordan Alexandra Peterson, John Wayne Kinley, Marion Diane Kinley, Dennis Davis. There were also 10 unknown persons who participated in the wrongful activities, according to the complaint filed with the court. For that reason, the estate reserved the right to amend the complaint in the future when the other parties are identified.

However, as of Dec. 23, Donna Herring is the only defendant named in the civil suit to appear in court on criminal charges. She appeared for arraignment on Dec. 1 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant in El Dorado, and entered not guilty pleas to all charges. Bryant released Donna Herring on a $5,000 unsecured bond. Her case is set for trial in February.

Regarding Jacobs, he was injured during the explosion of a Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, according to court documents used to create the following account. In April 2012, Jacobs received a multi-million dollar settlement related to injuries he suffered in the disaster.

In May 2012, Jacobs used Century 21 Campbell & Company in Camden to help him purchase a home and several investment properties. It was through the real estate agency that Jacobs became acquainted with Donna Peterson Herring, the real estate agent who assisted in Jacobs’ purchase of a home just a few blocks from her own.

Herring allegedly became more involved in Jacobs’ life by bringing him into her husband’s business - Meek’s Pest Control - as well as having her then-teenage daughter work at his home as a housekeeper and also having Jacobs’ former fiancé take photos of the daughter for a 2013 beauty pageant.

The civil suit stated that at the urging of Donna Herring, Jacobs began to date Peterson after his relationship with his fiancé ended. It was alleged that Jacobs and Peterson became engaged in 2014, but they did not marry. At the time of his death, Peterson was living in a rental property owned by Jacobs in Arkadelphia while she was attending Henderson State

university, but she still had access to Jacobs’ home in Camden.

At the time of his death, it was reported Jacobs’ had then started dating another woman. It is believed that he was on his way to visit the girlfriend when he was involved in the auto collision that caused his death.

“On the night of the fatal auto wreck, the police report indicated that Matthew was driving on a ‘dry,’ ‘clear,’ and ‘straight,’ road that was only a few minutes from his home,” states the complaint in the civil suit filed in Ouachita County by Little Rock lawyer Bruce Tidwell on behalf of the estate. The police report indicates that Jacobs veered to the left and crossed oncoming traffic before crashing into a tree.

“The police report also indicated that Matthew’s vehicle, ‘showed no signs of braking prior to impact,’” the civil complaint states.

Following his death, Jacobs’ then 17-year-old son, Jordan Jacobs, and Matthew Jacobs’ brother, Lance Reed, allegedly searched his home and gun safe for a last will and testament, but were unable to find one. Matthew Jacobs’ estate was allegedly worth nearly $2 million at the time of his death and his son would have been the sole heir had he died without a will. Donna Herring allegedly claimed to know of a sealed envelope bearing the initials MJ that her husband, Doug Herring, and neighbor, Dennis Davis, reportedly discovered in Matthew Jacobs’ gun safe at his Camden home days after it had been searched by Matthew Jacobs’ son and brother. Herring met with Matthew Jacobs’ brother at her office Jan. 25, 2015, six days after the fatal crash, and told him about the sealed envelope. Herring convinced Reed that the envelope had to be opened in a lawyer’s presence. Herring persuaded Reed to give the sealed envelope to Paul Lindsay, who was subsequently engaged to represent Peterson in the probate case related to Jacobs’ estate, the court documents show.

During the meeting, “Donna Herring offered to involve Reed in a scheme to forge a life insurance policy in the name of the decedent, to which Reed declined,” a search warrant affidavit filed in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas states. The envelope contained a last will and testament that gave the bulk of the estate to Peterson and $50,000 to Matthew Jacobs’ son. The allegedly fraudulent will, which bore the signatures of Donna Herring’s sister, Diane Kinley, and brother-in-law, John Wayne Kinley, as witnesses, named Peterson as executor of the estate even though she was a minor and legally ineligible to serve in such a capacity at the time it was purportedly created. The Kinleys’ signatures and Matthew Jacobs’ allegedly forged signature were all dated May 13, 2014.

The allegedly-phony will identified Peterson as “fiance” and directed that Matthew Jacobs be cremated and the ashes given to Peterson. But Matthew Jacobs had already been buried when the allegedly fake will surfaced.

Because Peterson was ineligible to serve as executor, Matthew Jacobs’ brother served as executor of the large estate. In November 2015, Peterson was awarded nearly $1 million in funds as well as real estate and other property, such as boats and ATVs, while Matthew Jacobs’ son received $50,000 for his education and a $250,000 disbursement from a life insurance policy.

According to the civil complaint, the last will and testament was admitted to probate without either a self-proving affidavit, a proof of will with notary signature, or the testimony of proving witness at a hearing. Under the terms of the purported will, Jordan Jacobs and Alex Peterson were named as beneficiaries. It also named John Kinley Jr. and Diane Kinley as witnesses to the execution of the will, attesting to its validity. It was reported that there was a disagreement on the interpretation of the last will and testament, and the estate filed a petition to construe and interpret the document. Prior to a hearing, a settlement was reached related to the distribution of assets. The settlement was approved in probate court Nov. 24, 2015. Following the approved settlement, Reed proceeded with the distribution of assets. The complaint states that subsequent to the distribution of assets to Peterson, she sold, traded, or gifted some of or otherwise converted the assets.

“On or about March 7, 2016, (Donna) Herring used funds fraudulently derived from the estate to purchase a 2012 Lexus RX350 for her own personal use,” according to a criminal indictment charging Herring with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering unsealed Dec. 1 in the El Dorado Division of the Western District of Arkansas. After the distribution of assets, it was discovered that the purported last will and testament was actually created by Donna Herring following the death of Matthew Jacobs.

In April 2016, a lawyer representing Jordan Jacobs contacted the FBI. The lawyer told investigators that the will had actually been created Jan. 24, 2015, five days after Matthew Jacobs’ death. The document that Herring produced was created through the legal document website www.formswift.com. The e-mail address used on the website belonged to Herring and the services were paid for with a credit card belonging to John Kinley Jr. Upon discovering the creation of the will after Jacobs’ death, the information was given over to the FBI. A copy of the fake was faxed Jan. 27, 2015, from Peterson’s lawyer’s office to Jordan Jacobs allegedly differs from the copy eventually filed with the court in Ouachita County in the following ways: The faxed copy had handwritten page numbers while the court copy had none; the witness signatures were changed to include dates; and, “the signature of the decedent was not the same,” according to the search warrant. Donna Herring, Alex Peterson, Doug Herring, Diane Kinley, John Kinley, Davis and Donna Herring’s lawyer were interviewed July 13 by the FBI. During her interview, Donna Herring allegedly admitted to creating the faxed copy and the court copy of the phony will and placing it in the gun safe.

“Furthermore, while the truthfulness of Donna Herring’s statements to law enforcement remain in question, Donna Herring claimed to have found and subsequently destroyed descendant’s actual last will and testament after his death,” the search warrant states.

John Kinley allegedly admitted during his interview that Donna Herring brought the fake will to him and his wife to sign after Matthew Jacobs died.

“Diane Kinley was interviewed by law enforcement and provided statements that are not believed to be truthful,” the search warrant states. Peterson allegedly admitted that she knew her mother had created the phony will and placed it in the gun safe. Peterson was also asked about Matthew Jacobs’ iPhone, which went missing after his death.

“Peterson stated that she ‘wiped’ the SIM card of decedent’s iPhone after his death and no longer had the phone,” the search warrant states.

Investigators were still searching for a copy of Matthew Jacobs’ actual will when they acquired the search warrant for his iCloud account in September.

The search warrant notes that Jacobs’ life insurance policy indicated that the proceeds of any claim should go to his estate and referenced an actual will. The complaint also seeks an award of attorney fees, court costs and punitive damages meant to punish the defendants for allegedly conspiring to fraudulently deprive Matthew Jacobs’ rightful heirs of his estate. All the defendants have filed answers to the civil complaint denying wrongdoing.

While most of the defendants used lawyers, Davis answered on his own behalf, claiming Donna Herring called him and asked him to follow Matthew Jacobs’ house to be an “outside” witness to the safe’s opening and to take photos of the safe closed and opened. Davis claims Donna Herring told him her lawyer advised her to have a disinterested party present. He states that Peterson and Donna Herring were at the house when he arrived and that Doug Herring arrived a short time later.

Davis said he did as he was asked because Donna Herring is a life-long family friend. Davis said he took the sealed envelope to his car and delivered it to Donna Herring’s lawyer without any knowledge of what was inside and without any compensation of any kind from anyone for his actions. Davis is asking to be dropped from the suit.

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