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Lynch Family Companies, Inc., of Waucoma, also known as "Lynch Livestock," and four of its high-level managers have been sentenced in federal court after law enforcement agents uncovered a wide-ranging fraud scheme that victimized livestock producers throughout the Midwest, caused over $3 million in loss, and spanned nearly two decades. The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa this Tuesday announced the terms of court rulings late last week. Lynch Family Companies, Inc., which was charged with one count of Failing to Comply with an Order of the Secretary of Agriculture, was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $196,000, and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to livestock producers and farmers. 65-year-old Fort Atkinson resident Charlie Lynch, who entered a guilty plea last July to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, last month was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $3,000. 51-year-old Billie Joe Wickham of Waucoma, who also entered a guilty plea last July to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, was sentenced to six months of imprisonment and fined $3,000. Wickham must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. 60-year-old Leland "Pete" Blue of Fredericksburg, who also entered a guilty plea last July to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $1,000. 31-year-old Tyler Thoms of Fayette, who entered a guilty plea last August to one count of Causing a Livestock Dealer to Keep Inaccurate Accounts and Records, was sentenced in January to one year of probation. In its plea agreement, Lynch Livestock admitted that beginning in about the early 2000s, and continuing through at least late March 2017, Lynch Livestock's 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 Livestock's buying stations throughout the Midwest, thus affecting the money paid to producers and sellers. For the complete news release from The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa, visit: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/pr/livestock-dealer-and-four-its-managers-sentenced-widespread-pig-fraud-scheme

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U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa orders Lynch Livestock to pay over $3 million in restitution to farmers and livestock producers