The superseding indictment also charges Billie Joe Bill Wickham, a bookkeeper at the company, with the conspiracy counts as well as six counts of mail fraud pertaining to transactions with a Minnesota livestock producer in 2016 and 2017. On January 13, 2023, Blue was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $1,000. 2022 brought on some challenges for those in the agriculture industry. Charlie Lynch, age 65, of Fort Atkinson, Iowa, pled guilty on July 25, 2022, to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. On January 13, 2023, Wickham was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and fined $3,000. Investigators say the fraud dates back two decades. New leadership was hired, and the company developed an industry leading, robust compliance plan that included enhanced processes and the installation of cameras. Although this situation arose due to the actions of a few employees at one buying station, we take this matter very seriously, Gary Lynch, 74, was quoted as saying. Van Wert County Sheriffs Department said in a press release that 25,000 to 40,000 mink got loose. News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region. The company has been ordered to stop recording false weights for hogs delivered to its buying stations, to stop altering classifications of hogs delivered, and to stop creating false scale tickets. Wickham must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Evidence at various hearings in the cases established that Wickham reported directly to the second-ranking official and participated in the fraud for over fifteen years. initiatives, but also help Lynch Livestock innovate further in this area." The company said the employees were manipulating the scale and issuing false tickets at one of the company's hog buying . Lynch Family Companies, Inc., headquartered in Waucoma, Iowa, is a diverse company with multiple facets that allows the. There is no parole in the federal system. 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. As a result, Lynch Livestock created, kept, and provided to livestock producers scale tickets that contained false information because they understated the actual weight of the swine. 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. Another company official, sow procurement and marketing employee Charlie Lynch, was sentenced to five years of probation on a conspiracy charge. An Iowa corporation and four of its high-level managers have been sentenced in federal court after law enforcement uncovered a wide-ranging scheme to defraud livestock producers throughout the Midwest, causing over $3 million in losses over nearly two decades. During the various sentencing hearings, Judge Williams referred to Lynch Livestocks fraud scheme as a systematic method of cheating and stealing from livestock producers and sellers and noted the nature of the fraud [was] to rip off people little by little, day by day. Lynch Livestock cooperated with the governments criminal investigation and has agreed to various compliance measures as a part of its plea agreement. Registered in England and Wales. 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. We have already made great strides in establishing new processes and procedures to empower employees and ensure producers receive fair compensation.. LAWLER - Three members of a Northeast Iowa family have been sentenced for their roles in crop loan and bankruptcy fraud schemes. Lynch Family Companies Inc., of Waucoma, Iowa, also known as Lynch Livestock, pled guilty on July 29, 2022, to one count of failing to comply with an order of the secretary of agriculture. to lower the values for producers. Please use the menus or the search box to find what you are looking for. A superseding indictment was unsealed charging a sow marketing employee with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and conspiracy to defrau. Charlie Lynch, age 65, of Fort Atkinson, Iowa, pled guilty on July 25, 2022, to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States . Northern Iowa man who died 9 years ago is identified by police as serial killer from 1980s, A win for Democrats, but still work to do with Wisconsins legislative map-making process, La Crosses Davis follows up career game with 26 points, as Badgers beat Iowa, Your email address will not be published. The company said restitution has already been sent to producers who were underpaid for their hogs. There is no parole in the federal system. Evidence at various hearings in the cases established that Wickham reported directly to the second-ranking official and participated in the fraud for over fifteen years. 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. 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. Example video title will go here for this video. a variety of reasons, including to recognize new and past website users, to customize Copyright 2023. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Please subscribe to keep reading. All rights reserved. The plan included the destruction of documents and misleading statements to regulators to cover up the crime, according to the indictment. Lynch announced those moves in a press release posted online July 28, after The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had taken enforcement action against the company for illegal buying practices for the second time since 2017. Blue managed Lynch Livestock's sow inventory and, no later than 2012, joined the scheme. U.S. District Courthouse in Cedar Rapids. Charles Lynch is on Facebook. In its plea agreement, Lynch Livestock agreed to pay over $3 million in restitution with credit for approximately $1.2 million that Lynch Livestock has already paid because of the 2017 and 2021 USDA consent decisions. Billie Joe Wickham, age 51, of Waucoma, Iowa, pled guilty on July 15, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. In response to these concerns, Gary Lynch self-reported violations to the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), requested an audit, and cooperated with the GIPSA investigation. The companys longtime owner, Gary Lynch, a top booster of Iowa State athletics and political donor to Iowa Republican elected officials, hasnt returned messages seeking comment. Court records allege the scheme ran from 1999 to March 2021 and involved using a scale at the business headquarters to alter weights and downgrade classifications for hogs the company purchased at remote buying stations in Iowa. 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. WAUCOMA Prosecutors have filed charges against another employee in an investigation into fraud at a Waucoma-based livestock dealer. LOCAL 5 FORECAST: Just When You Thought Winter Was Over ordered Lynch Livestock to pay a civil penalty of $445,626, Family farm swaps cows for goats amid changed dairy industry, 20% of Iowa bridges in 'poor' condition, but not necessarily unsafe. Leland Pete Blue, age 60, of Fredericksburg, Iowa, pled guilty on July 28, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The agency ordered Lynch Livestock to pay $445,626 in penalties and restitution, and to stop recording false weights, altering classifications of hogs delivered, and creating false scale tickets. Dealers. Wickham was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. After the investigation was completed, GIPSA determined three customers were affected. The companys longtime owner, Gary Lynch, a top booster of Iowa State athletics and political donor to Iowa Republican elected officials, hasnt returned messages seeking comment. Thoms initially worked as a bookkeeper in Lynch Livestocks headquarters building with Wickham, Lynch, and Blue and then, from about 2018 to early 2021, managed Lynch Livestocks buying station at Waucoma, Iowa. Like many smaller meat lockers across the midwest, business is good, if she can locate the products customers want. Lynch Livestock agreed to pay over $400,000 in restitution to various farmers and producers. Demaray left the company in 2017. 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. You can cancel at any time. Charlie Lynch, age 65, of Fort Atkinson, Iowa, pled guilty on July 25, 2022, to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. Lynch Livestock operated buying stations in the Northern District of Iowa and elsewhere. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. 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. 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. Blue managed Lynch Livestocks sow inventory and, no later than 2012, joined the scheme. Another company official, sow procurement and marketing employee Charlie Lynch, was sentenced to five years of probation on a conspiracy charge. Madison County Strong: Survivors recount their experiences during Winterset tornado. As a result, Lynch Livestock created, kept, and provided to livestock producers scale tickets that contained false information because they understated the actual weight of the swine. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. In the press release, his company said the USDA received a complaint in January that employees at its Waucoma buying station were manipulating the scale and issuing false tickets to artificially lower payments to producers. Beginning in about the early 2000s, and continuing through at least late March 2017, Lynch Livestocks second-ranking official directed other managers and employees to falsely reduce and downgrade the numbers, quality classifications, and weights of swine that producers and sellers had delivered to Lynch Livestocks buying stations throughout the Midwest, including but not limited to stations in the Northern District of Iowa. Lynch Livestock contact info: Phone number: (563) 776-3311 Website: www.lynchlivestock.com What does Lynch Livestock do? The company will be given credit for $1.24 million in restitution already paid as part of USDA sanctions from 2017 and 2021. Lynch Livestock, a licensed livestock dealer, operates buying stations in Iowa and several other states where hog farmers and producers sell their animals. 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). Local police have urged residents who spot mink not to approach them and to contact the farm or trappers for recapturing. It was also part of the scheme to lie to USDA officials and customers in order to conceal the scheme to defraud and to lull livestock sellers into a false sense of security about Lynch Livestocks buying practices as a dealer under the (Packers and Stockyards) Act..
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