A rancher in Washington state has pleaded guilty to charging Tyson Foods and another company $244 million to buy and feed cattle that never existed.
Cody Allen Easterday, 49, pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud and will pay restitution equal to the amount he allegedly stole. He also is facing civil charges relating to allegedly false statements about his cattle trading.
The complaints allege that, to cover some $200 million in commodity trading losses, Easterday engaged in a scheme to defraud Tyson and another, unnamed company. Easterday entered into an agreement with Tyson and the other company to buy, fatten and resell cattle. Instead, beginning in 2016, Easterday sent phony invoices to Tyson and the other company for “hundreds of thousands of cattle that neither Easterday nor Easterday Ranches ever purchased, and that did not actually exist,” according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition to paying $244 million in restitution, Easterday faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. He is due to be sentenced on Aug. 4.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil suit March 31 against Easterday. It alleges that in the course of his scheme, he used his “ghost cattle” to successfully apply for permission to exceed limits on positions in cattle futures.
“Because they were based on false or misleading information, the hedge exemptions were invalid,” a release from the CFTC states. “As a result, Easterday Ranches violated exchange-set position limit violations on at least two occasions.”
The CFTC lawsuit seeks restitution, civil penalties and a permanent ban on Easterday trading commodities.