. WAUCOMA Prosecutors have charged an Iowa livestock company in an ongoing investigation into allegations its employees shorted hog producers. Charlie Lynch, 65, of Fort Atkinson, was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $3,000. He pleaded not guilty during an appearance in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Lynch Livestock managers and employees then routinely shredded and burned evidence of the fraud and document destruction . In its plea agreement, Lynch Livestock agreed the amount of loss from the fraudulent conduct prior to 2018 was greater and not isolated to the two corporate customers or two buying stations. Can I Play Live Dealer Games from My iPhone? Leland Pete Blue, age 60, of Fredericksburg, Iowa, pled guilty on July 28, 2022, to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. Wickham must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. On February 10, 2023, Lynch Livestock was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $196,000, and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to livestock producers and farmers. WASHINGTON, July 23, 2021 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reached a consent decision and order against Lynch Livestock Inc. of Wacoma, Iowa, on July 13, 2021, for alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act.. An investigation by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service revealed that from January 2018 through December 2020, Lynch falsified the account of purchase . The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With respect to the $1.8 million in new restitution that will be available for livestock producers and sellers, Judge Williams indicated further proceedings will be scheduled to allocate the restitution among Lynch Livestocks victims. 1040 WHO is Des Moines news, traffic, and severe weather station. While working in the headquarters building as a bookkeeper, Thoms participated in forging scale tickets and then, as a manager, used a crowbar to lift up on a scale to cheat producers. IOWA CITY, Iowa An influential hog dealer sanctioned twice for defrauding pork producers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars says it has fired employees responsible for its latest violations and paid restitution to affected sellers. Enter to Win a digital download of A Man Called Otto PLUS a $50 savings pass from 1-800-Flowers! On February 10, 2023, Lynch Livestock was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $196,000, and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to livestock producers and farmers. On February 10, 2023, Lynch Livestock was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $196,000, and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to livestock producers and farmers. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). All rights reserved. Lori Warfel of Downs, owner of Bittner's Eureka Locker, Inc., in Eureka, Illinois, inventories sides of beef in the meat locker's refrigerated storage, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. 2022 brought on some challenges for those in the agriculture industry. LAWLER - Three members of a Northeast Iowa family have been sentenced for their roles in crop loan and bankruptcy fraud schemes. Charlie Lynch was involved in sow procurement and marketing for Lynch Livestock and, from no later than 2013 until about 2017, reduced classifications on sows that producers sold to Lynch Livestock. Wickham also had a leadership role in the conspiracy, directing other employees to stamp fraudulent scale tickets and to manipulate the sorting of swine to lower the values for producers. We expect Dan will not only help us move forward with these initiatives, but also help Lynch Livestock innovate further in this area, he said. The practices largely concerned large, corporate swine producers. On February 10, 2023, Lynch Livestock was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $196,000, and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to livestock producers and farmers. U.S. District Courthouse in Cedar Rapids. Wickham was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set. On Tuesday, a superseding indictment was unsealed charging Charles Francis Lynch, a sow procurement and marketing employee at Lynch Livestock, with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. The USDA received an additional complaint in January 2021 regarding similar weighing violations at one of the companys hog buying stations. Charlie Lynch was involved in sow procurement and marketing for Lynch Livestock and, from no later than 2013 until about 2017, reduced classifications on sows that producers sold to Lynch Livestock. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) An influential hog dealer sanctioned twice for defrauding pork producers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars says it has fired employees responsible for its latest violations and paid restitution to affected sellers. Lynch Livestock and meat giant JBS USA are the only companies that have faced sanctions twice during that period, according to data on its website. While working in the headquarters building as a bookkeeper, Thoms participated in forging scale tickets and then, as a manager, used a crowbar to lift up on a scale to cheat producers. #1. Lynch Livestock agreed to pay over $400,000 in restitution to various farmers and producers. Blue managed Lynch Livestock's sow inventory and, no later than 2012, joined the scheme. Wickham must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Another company official, sow procurement and marketing employee Charlie Lynch, was sentenced to five years of probation on a conspiracy charge. Under a joint sentencing agreement, the company will face a $196,000 fine and three years probation and will pay $3.04 million in restitution. News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region. On Friday, Judge C.J. Lynch Livestock bought swine from livestock producers and sellers at these stations, and the prices Lynch Livestock paid was based on the numbers, classifications, and weights of the swine. This page uses trademarks and/or copyrights owned by Paizo Inc., which are used under Paizos Community Use Policy. Lynch Livestock took action upon receiving the report, including: fully cooperating during the agencys investigation, terminating employees who manipulated the scales and issued false tickets, implementing additional employee training and an internal whistleblower process, installing cameras at facilities as a safeguard so employees and customers can see how animals are sorted and weighed. All Rights Reserved. In late 2017, Lynch Livestock and the USDA entered an administrative consent decision under the Act in which Lynch Livestock agreed to pay nearly $800,000 in restitution to two of its corporate customers on account of fraud committed at two Iowa buying stations. Leland Pete Blue, age 60, of Fredericksburg, Iowa, pled guilty on July 28, 2022, to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. WAUCOMA A livestock station manager accused of manipulating scales when weighing pigs has pleaded to federal charges in a fraud investigation. 9 talking about this. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Fifty-one-year-old Joe. Charlie Lynch, 65, of Fort Atkinson, was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $3,000. Employees sentenced to jail, probation in livestock fraud investigation. In its plea agreement, Lynch Livestock admitted that it was registered with the secretary of the USDA a dealer under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 (the Act). Max & Amy start your day at 4:59am , then at 9am it's Jeff Angelo's "Need to Know". Company employees arbitrarily lowered weights for delivered hogs, downgraded their classifications, fictitiously claimed dead hogs to lower prices and created false scale tickets to back up altered weights. You can cancel at any time. Gary Lynch expressed confidence that positive changes will be made under Sutherland, who spent decades as an executive with Johnsonville Sausage. Days after being charged with mail fraud, a former manager for Lynch Livestock, a pork dealer based in Iowa, died in a car crash Monday.