The Rogers man whose cancer research center was raided by the FBI in June was arrested Thursday in Benton County, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.
James William Bolt, 60, was booked into the Benton County Jail at 6:24 p.m. and is being held for U.S. Marshals, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Federal agents raided three locations in June associated with Bolt, including his home and Situs Cancer Research Center in Rogers. Authorities at the time said the raids were part of a white-collar crime investigation.
An affidavit filed in federal court July 2 states the FBI suspects Bolt of mail and wire fraud, and money laundering. The affidavit was attached to a forfeiture document regarding the FBI seizing property from the center. It was filed by U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division.
The affidavit asserts Bolt and Situs “submitted false information to Computershares Inc. by mail in order to have Computershares Inc. release unclaimed property to Situs in the form of a check or wire transfer.” The document cites five properties in California.
Bolt used “proceeds of the scheme” to buy a house at 303 Rife St. for $208,394; the clinic at 1222 W. Poplar St. in Rogers for $660,626; and another property at 1204 W. Poplar St. for $99,765, according to the affidavit.
Bolt, who is listed on the center’s website as “principal investigator,” told 5NEWS in June that he is a researcher there.
Bolt said at the time that he was not sure why federal authorities were investigating the clinic, but added the clinic submitted a report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before the raid about a donation to the clinic.
Federal authorities also seized three airplanes registered to the clinic from the Rogers Municipal Airport and one from the Bentonville Municipal Airport, officials said.
At 1222 W. Poplar St., agents were seen removing items from a MobileCare van during the June raids. A web address printed on the side of the van directs viewers to Situs Oncology, a cancer research center at 504 N. 13th St. in Rogers. The Web address is situsoncology.org.
Bolt was convicted of mail fraud in 1982. He was acquitted in a 2006 case that accused him of running a fraudulent scheme aimed at investing money in a new pharmaceutical drug, according to federal court documents.
