Shades of Al Capone, whose downfall was linked to a tax charge. The feds used fraudulent Social Security benefits to nab the operator of a Little Rock “cat house.”

The U.S. attorney’s office said Gary Lemond Shorter, 61, was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to repay Social Security $15,208 for pleading guilty to making a false statment to Social Security.

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Shorter began receiving disability benefits in 2011 after saying he was unable to work. But, said the government:

… Shorter was operating a strip club and brothel out of his residence located on Wolfe
Street in Little Rock, also known as “the Cat House.” ….

Shorter hosted “shows” at “the Cat House” where he would charge a $10 admission fee and sell alcohol to patrons. Inside of the house, women would strip for the patrons and were required to pay Shorter a fee from what they earned for stripping. The upstairs of Shorter’s residence was known as “the VIP area,” where women would engage in sex acts in exchange for money. Shorter would receive payment from the individuals using the VIP room.

The recommended sentencing range for Shorter was zero to six months’ imprisonment. Based on the egregiousness of Shorter’s conduct, the United States requested a higher sentence and Judge Karen Kris Baker agreed.

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