Top 10 Scandals Seen in the Cattle Industry in 2022
The cattle and beef industry has seen its fair share of bribes, ponzi schemes and fraud convictions in 2022. Here’s a look at some of the largest, most costly and slightly ridiculous scandals seen in the industry over the past year:
10) USDA Inspector Charged With Accepting Bribes At Texas Border
A U.S. Department of Agriculture employee was paid to allow tick infested and diseased cattle toenter the country, according to an indictment filed in a Laredo federal court. Authorities arrested Roberto Adams in Laredo, Tex., on March 3, 2022, charging him with bribery of a public official. Court documents identify Adams as a USDA Lead Animal Health Technician. Read more>
9) Stolen Double Ear-Notched Calves Sold, Texas Man Indicted on Two Counts
Stealing cattle with distinct, both ear tips notched, hoping to slide under the radar is not a likely proposition. However, one Lee County, Texas man thought otherwise. Wilber Eugene Jackson was caught selling cattle that weren’t his for a second time. Read more>
8) Tyson Foods' CFO Found Intoxicated And Asleep In Random Home
Tyson Foods’ Chief Financial Officer, John R. Tyson, 32, was arrested early Sunday morning as he was found intoxicated and asleep in someone else’s home, a local news source reported. Read more>
7) West Texas Judge, Three Others Arrested For Cattle Rustling
Law enforcement agents traveled to a rural and sparsely populated West Texas county to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands for cattle rustling. Loving County Judge Skeet Jones, 71, faces three felony counts of livestock theft and one count of engaging in criminal activity, allegedly gathering and selling stray cattle, according to authorities. Read more>
6) Alberta Man Linked To Multi-Million-Dollar Hay ‘Scam’
A Canadian man, as part of the company New Way Ag, alleged to have orchestrated a multi-million-dollar hay fraud scheme in the U.S., promised grain hay, barley straw and wheat straw at low prices to quickly make sales, collected payments, and then never delivered any product to their victims. Read more>
5) Thieves Rustle 80 Pregnant Cows In Colorado
Colorado rancher Steve McEndree says 80 pregnant cows were stolen from his ranch earlier in December in Baca County. The 18,000-acre ranch is 30 miles northwest of Springfield in the southeastern corner of the state. The cattle are valued at $100,000. The Colorado Operation Livestock Thief program is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the conviction of a suspect or suspects. Read more>
4) Two Convicted in Cattle & Marijuana Ponzi Scheme
Convicted of wire fraud and running a Ponzi scheme that raised $650 million from investors across the country, a couple now face decades in prison. A federal grand jury found Reva J. Stachniw, 70, of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ron Throgmartin, 58, of Buford, Georgia, guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Read more>
3) Reefers on the Run: Trailers with Over $200,000 of Beef Stolen, One Still Missing
Avoiding high prices of meat at the store, some turned to finding beef through a less conventional route. Reports of three semi-trailers loaded with beef were stolen in Grand Island, Neb. in June. Read more>
2) $9-Million Loss In 45 Packing Plant Thefts Uncovered, Three Suspects Arrested
Spurred by the three reefer trailers stolen in Nebraska, the investigation uncovered approximately 45 thefts totaling over $9 million in loss to be orchestrated by three Florida men across the Midwest. Investigators described the theft ring as a “sophisticated and highly organized criminal enterprise.” Read more>
1) Over $2 Billion in Total Losses, Kansas Sale Barn Owner Convicted of Fraud
After nearly four years of investigation on a check kiting and fraud scheme costing banks and dozens of cattle ranchers in the area, a former owner of Plainville Livestock Commission (PLC) in Rooks County, Kans., was been convicted by federal jury. Read more>
