AP Agriculture Jun. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. His lawsuit was put on hold while John Lynch, who suffered a devastating stroke hours after his firing, pursues a workers compensation claim. Victoria Ulrich and her horse, Razzle, trot through the trail horse obstacle course during the performance class horse show at the 2021 Black Hawk County 4H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. In its press release, the company said it had recently established an internal whistleblower process to allow employees to report violations without retaliation. The company said restitution has already been sent to producers who were underpaid for their hogs. Billie Joe Wickham, 51, of Waucoma, was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $3,000. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Joe Knorr is nothing if not persistent when it comes to making his vision a reality. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they make it through this difficult time, he wrote. Keep it Clean. He again provided notice to the Andrew County Commission, the Missouri Conservation Commission and the Water Pollution Protection program about his intentions to build a hog feeding operation. Demaray left the company in 2017. The business website states the company, "prides itself on the relationships that have been cultivated amongst generations of hog farmers.". 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. His brother, John Lynch, has alleged in a lawsuit that he discovered illegal transactions, including inaccurate weight tickets and sorting irregularities, reported them to company officials in April 2017 and was fired for doing so. 1, 2023 6:23 pm6h ago, State Government May. The Iowa Pork Producers Association named him an honorary master producer the next year. WASHINGTON, March 18, 2019 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) issued a complaint to Shane M. Lynch Invalid password or account does not exist. An official website of the United States government. WebCharlie Lynch was associated with Lynch Livestock Inc in 2018. Gary Lynch, 74, hasnt responded to a phone message and an email seeking comment. Tyler Thoms, age 31, of Fayette, Iowa, pled guilty on August 9, 2022, to one count of Causing a Livestock Dealer to Keep Inaccurate Accounts and Records. As proof of construction, the Health Department stated it obtained aerial mapping showing concrete had been poured and through visual observation stated construction continues. The USDA has resolved more than 100 legal actions against businesses and individuals for alleged fair trade violations in the livestock industry in the last five years. Lynch Livestock, based in Waucoma, Iowa, has been ordered to stop recording false weights for hogs delivered to its buying stations, to stop altering Lynch Livestock and its managers defrauded livestock producers throughout the Midwest for nearly two decades, said United States Attorney Timothy Duax. Between about 2018 and March 2021, Lynch Livestocks managers and employees used a crowbar or other similar object to manipulate the scales on which livestock producers swine was weighed at its buying stations. Billie Joe Wickham, age 51, of Waucoma, Iowa, pled guilty on July 15, 2022, to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. The defendants were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. According to Lynch Family Companies, the business first became aware of the issues at its hog buying stations in 2017. He also had a Land Disturbance permit from DNR. Threats of harming another In July, the USDA ordered Lynch Livestock to pay a civil penalty of $445,626, including restitution to affected sellers. WAUCOMA A livestock station manager who allegedly used a crowbar to rig hog scales is the latest person to be charged in the investigation i. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 28, 2021 4:52 pm, Updated: Jul. WAUCOMA, Iowa (KCRG) - Law enforcement officials say a livestock dealer and four of its managers were sentenced Monday for defrauding producers and farmers across the Midwest for nearly two decades. Sutton Paulsen's horse, Buck The Trend, in the warm up ring between events on Friday during performance class horse show at the Black Hawk County 4H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. In October 2017, the USDA fined Lynch Livestock $15,000, ordered the company to pay restitution to two major hog producers and demanded those practices be But the problems did not stop, in at least one of its buying stations. Knorr also got yet another new Land Disturbance permit from Natural Resources. 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. The USDA had ordered Lynch Livestock to cease and desist from the same improper buying and weighing practices in October 2017 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. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. We won't share it with anyone else. For the second time in four years, an influential nationwide pork dealer has been sanctioned by federal regulators for illegal buying practices that cheated hog sellers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The investigation also identified two dates in June 2016 when Lynch falsely represented ownership in livestock advertised for sale, and then accepted payment for this livestock he did not own. A federal grand jury on Nov. 4 indicted Demaray and a former Lynch Livestock bookkeeper on two counts of mail fraud. Lynch Livestock has livestock stations in Illinois, Iowa, Minnestota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota. The Iowa State Patrol says 70-year-old Steven Demaray was driving a truck when he crashed head-on into a concrete pillar near New Hampton, where he lived. An official website of the United States government. Breh Murch, 8, of the Bennington Boosters 4-H Club in Denver smiles as she launches her paper rocket into the air at the 2021 Black Hawk County 4-H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. Ansli Cox of Cedar Falls tries to match live specimens of prairie plants and flowers with names on a chart at the University of Northern Iowa's Tallgrass Prairie Outreach Center exhibit during the STEM Fair at the 2021 Black Hawk County 4-H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. Knorr also has several documents in which the Andrew County prosecutor has stated the Health Department regulations for CAFO are unlawful. The company purchases hogs from a range of producers and markets those animals to packing plants around the country for companies such as Johnsonville Sausage and Bob Evans. At a 2019 event for Iowa Select Farms owner Jeff Hansens charity, Lynch paid $4,350 to win an auction for an afternoon with the governor, including lunch at her mansion and a Capitol tour. However, from the early 2000s through at least March 2017, the company second-ranking official had other managers and employees falsely reduce and downgrade the numbers to pay less than they should have had to for the livestock. WAUCOMA A livestock station manager accused of manipulating scales when weighing pigs has pleaded to federal charges in a fraud investigation. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa, Defrauded Producers and Farmers Throughout the Midwest for Nearly Two Decades, Offender Reentry and Crime Prevention Efforts, Livestock Dealer and Four of Its Managers Sentenced in Widespread Pig Fraud Scheme, https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, Hong Kong Company, CEO, Agree to Permanent Injunction, Abandon Funds Fraudulently Obtained from Iowa Company, Former Go Cedar Rapids Executives Sentenced to Federal Prison, Cedar Falls Man Sentenced to Federal Prison in Check Kiting Scheme. An Iowa Select Farms spokeswoman declined comment. 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 Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The company has taken full responsibility for all past sorting and weighing issues and we are pleased to have entered into an agreement to resolve this matter, Gary Lynch, CEO of Lynch Family Companies, said in a prepared statement. The charge came days after prosecutors charged the companys sow marketing employee, Leland Pete Blue, with conspiracy, and after sow procurement employee Charlie Francis Lynch pleaded in the investigation. Higher wind gusts possible.. Clear. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. 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 managers and employees then routinely shredded and burned evidence of the fraud and document destruction was a routine practice of the company and a specific response when it was anticipated that USDA officials were investigating the companys practices. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. Lynch sent a note to employees Monday saying he had a sad heart to share the news of Demarays death. Lynch paid a civil penalty and restitution of $445,626, which has been distributed to the producers who were underpaid. The charge, which was filed Thursday, alleges the company violated a 2017 consent agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to settle allegations employees falsified scale tickets and other purchasing documents. Lynch Livestock entered a consent decree over the matter in July 2021 and agreed to pay a $445,000 civil penalty, which will be reduced by restitution paid to sellers. An investigation by AMS revealed that in 14 transactions from September 4, 2015 through June 22, 2016, Lynch purchased livestock for a total of $259,176 and issued payment up to 12 days late or failed to pay at all. Demaray pleaded not guilty during his initial court appearance Nov. 10 and was free on bail. 1, 2023 6:18 pm6h ago, Crime and Courts May. The USDA said that the company immediately took corrective action even before agreeing to the latest consent order. or anything. Support our award-winning, independent journalism with a subscription today. The Andrew County Health Department also claims G. J. L. Farms is a company within Lynch Livestock Inc. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Lynch Livestock said that it had fired employees responsible for the latest violations and announced pork industry veteran Dan Sutherland would be its new chief executive officer, but a federal grand jury soon began hearing testimony about the fraud anyway. Ansli Cox of Cedar Falls tries to match live specimens of prairie plants and flowers with names on a chart at the University of Northern Iowa's Tallgrass Prairie Outreach Center exhibit during the STEM Fair at the 2021 Black Hawk County 4-H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. 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 that victimized livestock producers throughout the Midwest, caused over $3 million in loss, and spanned nearly two decades. Lynch Livestock operated buying stations in the Northern District of Iowa and elsewhere. By falsifying the producers accounts of purchase, Lynch Livestock and its managers created false and fraudulent invoices to pay less than what was due and owing to those producers. They also say they have paid restitution to affected sellers. A superseding indictment was unsealed charging a sow marketing employee with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and conspiracy to defrau. 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. The agency enforces the Packers and Stockyards Act, which is intended to protect farmers and ranchers against unfair practices in the livestock industry. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. Lynch Livestock has received a total of $2M in funding. WASHINGTON, July 23, 2021 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reached a consent decision and order against Lynch Livestock Inc. of Wacoma, Iowa, We have already made great strides in establishing new processes and procedures to empower employees and ensure producers receive fair compensation.. The 2017 case didnt erode Lynchs standing in the industry, philanthropy or politics. The same day, a new Lynch Livestock was incorporated. 1, 2023 11:53 am12h ago, By Jennifer Smith, - Dangerous Leader columnist, Business News Apr. The charge alleges that from as early as 2018 until March 2021, workers resumed the conduct, in one case using a crowbar or similar tool to manipulate scales at a buying station. His lawsuit was put on hold while John Lynch, who suffered a devastating stroke hours after his firing, pursues a workers compensation claim. Lynch Livestock is owned by Gary Lynch, who is a longtime financial supporter of Iowa State University athletics and Republican politicians in Iowa, including Gov. Gary Lynch, Chairman of Lynch Family Companies released the following statement: The company has taken full responsibility for all past sorting and weighing issues and we are ready to close this painful chapter. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The USDA redacted the name of others and the amount of restitution sellers were to be paid. The P&S Act is a fair trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat and poultry industries. Court records allege one employee used a crowbar or similar tool to manipulate scales at a buying station and then provided scale tickets with inaccurate information to livestock producers. 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. WebCompany charged in livestock fraud investigation As part of the agreement, the Lynch Family Companies will plead to the charge and pay $2 million in fines and restitution, 30, 2023 5:00 am1d ago, State Government May. In October 2017, the USDA fined Lynch Livestock $15,000, ordered the company to pay restitution to two major hog producers and demanded those practices be each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Aubrey Wulf and her pony, Snow Flame, jump over logs in the clover kid in-hand trail obstacle course on Friday during performance class horse show at the Black Hawk County 4H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. So shortly after his second attempt, Knorr created Stone Ridge Pork, a Missouri limited liability company, and secured financing through G.J.L. The USDA had ordered Lynch Livestock to cease and desist from the same improper buying and weighing practices in October 2017 and to pay a $15,000 fine and Lynch Livestock agreed to pay over $400,000 in restitution to various farmers and producers. Under the P&S Act, Lynch was required to issue payment for livestock before the close of the next business day following the purchase and the transfer of possession of the livestock. Our company is built on a strong foundation of integrity and trust, which is essential to our relationship with our customers.. Wickham would then allegedly use a manual scale at the headquarters to create fraudulent scale tickets with the lower weights and classifications. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. In June, the Andrew County Health Department with approval from board trustees, Norman Baade, Fritz Hegeman, Julie Hanna, Roxanne Fisher and Janice Krull, who are elected by Andrew County voters, filed a civil lawsuit against Knorr, John Knorr, Joe's father, the Stone Ridge Pork Farms seeking to stop further construction and operation of a concentrated animal feeding operation, or CAFO. accounts, the history behind an article. That investigation found Lynch Livestock willfully violated the law by arbitrarily lowering weights for hogs delivered to its stations, downgrading the classification of hogs, fictitiously claiming dead hogs to lower the price and creating false scale tickets to back up the altered weights, records show. Gary Lynch, 74, hasnt responded to a phone message and an email seeking comment. Wickham must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. The USDA documents identified Iowa Select Farms, the states largest pork producer, as one of the victims. Knorr noted in his reply to the lawsuit he'd notified in 2010 the three Andrew County commissioners he planned to create a hog farm. Critics have argued that well-connected companies were given special treatment, while Reynolds has denied that politics were a factor. On another tract of land, the Knorrs have fed and raised some 600 to 700 hogs a year for about 37 years. All rights reserved. Ulrich placed first in the event and was crowned the Fair Queen earlier in the week. United States Attorney Timothy Duax stated, Lynch Livestock and its managers defrauded livestock producers throughout the Midwest for nearly two decades. This file photo shows hogs in a confinement building in Iowa. Demaray and Wickham made false and misleading statements to regulators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conceal the fraud and to assure livestock sellers their practices were fair, while destroying documents with the real weights, the indictment says. There was a problem saving your notification. RELATED: Trooper swerved to avoid deer in fatal accident, Iowa State Patrol says, RELATED: Hog dealer fires NE Iowa-based employees over buying violations, Example video title will go here for this video. The Iowa Pork Producers Association named him an honorary master producer the next year. He even tried to get an Andrew County Health Department permit even though he believed the Health Department's regulation wasn't enforceable. In a consent order signed this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also ordered Lynch Livestock to pay a civil penalty of $445,626, which will be reduced for restitution paid to affected livestock sellers. The Health Department regulations would require the farm to be five miles from Savannah. The company faced similar allegations in 2017 and paid a $15,000 penalty. that is degrading to another person. 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. The Gazette has been informing Iowans with in-depth local news coverage and insightful analysis for 140 years. Lynch said it investigated the allegations and terminated an unspecified number of employees who engaged in those practices. Before sharing sensitive information online, make sure youre on a .gov or .mil site by inspecting your browsers address (or location) bar. 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. By Bobby Hansen, - Better Business Bureau. Those practices violate federal law and result in underpayments to producers. The 2017 case didnt erode Lynchs standing in the industry, philanthropy or politics. Thank you for signing up. The case file numbers are 21-CR-2074 (Wickham and Lynch), 21-CR-2042 (Blue), 22-CR-2043 (Lynch Family Companies, Inc.), and 22-CR-2044 (Thoms). Be Proactive. Official websites use .gov The Health Department claims, Knorr's involvement in the construction of a nonpermitted CAFO with Andrew County is the basis for their current lawsuit. Addnewsletters@thegazette.comto your contacts. NEW HAMPTON, Iowa A former manager for an influential Iowa-based pork dealer has died in a crash, days after federal prosecutors charged him in a scheme to swindle hog farmers through fraudulent buying practices. Stevenson also told the Health Department, he knew of "no authority which allows the health department to proceed in its own capacity and seek to cloak itself with some type of "official immunity" which it does not have in a case like this." Demaray, who was known by his nickname Shooter, was the only person in the truck and died at a hospital. Knorr also maintains the Health Department is using tax payer money to pursue the lawsuit without permission of the commissioners. Waucoma, Iowa-based Lynch Family Companies, Inc., known as Lynch Livestock, pleaded guilty in July 2022 to one count of failing to comply with an order of On July 15, two days after signing the USDA consent order, Gary Lynch filed paperwork with the Iowa Secretary of State to change the companys name to Lynch Family Companies Inc. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender, Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications, Pilot Project: Unprocessed Fruits & Vegetables, Purchase Programs: Solicitations & Awards, Web-Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM), For further information about the Packers and Stockyards Act, contact Stuart Frank, Director, Packers and Stockyards Division, Fair Trade Practices Program, at (515) 323-2586, or by email at, Reasonable Accommodation Personal Assistance Services, USDA Issues Complaint to Shane M. Lynch d/b/a Lynch Cattle Company LLC for Alleged Violations of the P&S Act. A lock ( The lawsuit alleges Knorr would be raising some 2,400 sows on his farm. WAUCOMA A bookkeeper at a Waucoma-based livestock dealer has been sentenced to six months behind bars as part of a fraud investigation. WAUCOMA An Iowa livestock dealer has come to a $2 million settlement with federal prosecutors over charges it violated an earlier agreement , WAUCOMA A livestock station manager who allegedly used a crowbar to rig hog scales is the latest person to be charged in the investigation i. Kim Reynolds and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. 2023 The Gazette | All Rights Reserved. Gary Lynch then reported the irregularities to the USDA, which launched its investigation. 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. Wickham also had a leadership role in the conspiracy, directing other employees to stamp fraudulent scale tickets and to manipulate the sorting of swineto lower the values for producers. His foundations annual banquet in June featured Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and Iowa States football and basketball coaches. The company did not publicize another change to its corporate structure. WAUCOMA A federal grand jury has indicted two men on allegations they shorted livestock producers when they worked for a hog dealer in 2016. Follow him on Twitter: @SJNPWhite. But a USDA investigation found similar practices continued from January 2018 through December 2020. Sutton Paulsen smiles and she and her horse, Buck The Trend, clear the bridge on the trail horse obstacle course on Friday during performance class horse show at the Black Hawk County 4H and FFA Fair in Waterloo. P&S regulations state that no dealer may make, issue or circulate any false or misleading representations concerning the sale of any livestock. Have a question about Government Services? Those practices violate federal law and result in underpayments to producers. The agency ordered Lynch Livestock to pay $445,626 in penalties and restitution, and to stop recording false weights, altering classifications of hogs delivered, After the pandemic began in April 2020, Lynch Livestock was one of the first Iowa companies that received on-site COVID-19 testing by a strike team deployed by Reynolds administration. The Health Department's board of trustees, back in 2010, established regulations for CAFO's wanting to operate within the county. High schooler dies after he was impaled during freak accident in gym class, officials say, Dubuque schools host informational meeting on districts facility planning efforts. WAUCOMA Prosecutors have filed charges against another employee in an investigation into fraud at a Waucoma-based livestock dealer. 30, 2022 6:54 pm305d ago, James Q. Lynch Campaigns & Elections Mar. Lynch Livestock, based in Waucoma, Iowa, 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. Low 36F. The company bought swine from livestock producers and sellers at its stations for prices based on the numbers, classifications and weights of the swine. Steven Demaray, 70, the former regional buying manager for Lynch Livestock, was driving a truck that crashed Monday morning into a concrete overpass support pier on Highway 63 near New Hampton, where he lived, according to the Iowa State Patrol. As part of the agreement, the Lynch Family Companies will plead to the charge and pay $2 million in fines and restitution, according to a company news release. The Health Department has stated in its lawsuit, Lynch Livestock Inc. is a part of a vast agricultural conglomerate, owned by Gerald J. Lynch, That corporation's website describes the company as a group of family businesses in Iowa since 1916. Breh Murch, 8, of the Bennington Boosters 4-H Club in Denver smiles as she launches her paper rocket into the air at the 2021 Black Hawk County 4-H and FFA Fair in Waterloo.
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