Nelson Sentenced to 32 More Years in Prison and Ordered to Pay $260,925 in Restitution for Cattle Fraud
Following the murders of two Wisconsin men, Garland J. Nelson, 28, of Braymer, Mo. has been convicted of a cattle fraud scheme totaling $215,000.
After being sentenced to serve two life sentences for the murders of Nicholas and Justin Diemel of Diemel’s Livestock LLC in late 2022, Nelson has received further sentencing after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm last October. Nelson has been sentenced to an additional 32 years in federal prison without parole and has been ordered to pay $260,925 in restitution to the victims.
It seems the murders from 2019 were simply the tip of the iceberg, following a long line of cattle fraud carried out by Nelson.
Read More: Nelson To Serve Life in Prison for Diemel Murders
Diemel’s Livestock LLC had entrusted Nelson to care for cattle beginning in November 2018, as an employee of J4s Farm Enterprises, Inc., an enterprise started by Nelson’s mother. The agreement included full care of the livestock, including feeding and pasturing, as well as selling the animals, with proceeds going to Diemel’s Livestock, less the cost of raising the cattle, a local news source reports.
Nelson received several loads from Nov. 2018 through Apr. 2019. Reports say Nelson sold some of them and paid the Diemels. However, Nelson also sold, traded or tried to kill many of the cattle—later admitting to not properly care for the cattle due to incompetence, neglect or maltreatment—and fraudulently billed the Diemels for feed and yardage for cattle no longer in his care.
Awaiting payment, the Diemels stopped sending cattle to Nelson only to receive a bad check in June 2019 for $215,936 from a bank account with a balance of $0.21. The check had also been intentionally torn or damaged so it could not be cashed, reports note.
When Nelson offered the Diemels to come to Missouri to get their money, Nicholas Diemel bought two round-trip tickets and arrived in Kansas City on July 20, 2019. Traveling to Nelson’s mother’s farm in Braymer the following day, the Diemels arrived to Nelson, alone, on the farm, the local news reported.
Nelson then killed both brothers and tried to dispose of their bodies, reports say. Investigators later found their remains in Missouri and in a livestock trailer in Lincoln County, Nebraska, that had been purchased in Missouri.
At the time of the Diemel brothers’ deaths, Nelson was on parole after serving 17 months in federal prison for an October 2016 conviction for cattle and insurance fraud.
More on this story:
First Trial For Man Accused of Killing Wisconsin Brothers Set
Cattle Fraud Charges Added To Diemel Murders
