Million Dollar Cattle Embezzlement Case Lands Oklahoma Man in Jail
A man in Oklahoma has been arrested for allegedly embezzling more than $1 million in a scheme involving cattle as the collateral for a bank loan.
A warrant was issued for Marty Robert Maahs, 33, and he turned himself into the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department on April 12.
The investigation was led by Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) special ranger Scott Williamson who began looking into the case in early 2017 after being contacted by Frazer Bank in Altus. Officials with the bank were concerned Maahs might be conducting illicit activities with a bank loan worth more than $1 million. Cattle were put up as collateral for the loan.
The investigation revealed that Maahs had sold cattle without payment to the bank. Other findings from the investigation was embezzlement of livestock funds, false statement and representation of collateral to the bank and the sale of mortgaged personal property without payment to the bank
Maahs has been charged with three felonies including: embezzlement greater than $25,000, obtaining by trick or deception greater than $1,000 and chattel encumbered greater than $1,000.
The three charges could result in up to 23 years in prison for Maahs and possible fines of more than $15,000. Maahs also must pay a restitution to the bank exceeding $1 million.
Maahs was booked into the Jackson County Jail after turning himself into authorities. He has since been released on bond while awaiting trial.
In a release from TSCRA it is noted that, “financial crimes can have a detrimental impact on other law-abiding cattle producers. According to Williamson, when criminals defraud financial institutions, as alleged in this case, it can make credit harder to obtain and more expensive for others who rely on those same financial tools.”
This is the third arrest nationally since December involving more than a million dollars being embezzled via cattle.
On Dec. 28, 2017, a California man was arrested after allegedly defrauding more than a million dollars from prospective cattle buyers in a scheme that spanned four states.
Nearly 90 people were defrauded out of $4.7 million in an investment fraud scheme involving the resale of cattle and put a Missouri man in police custody on March 28, 2018.
