TOP STORY--UPDATED: Federal judge issues sentences in case involving Lynch Livestock

Lynch Family Companies, Inc., of Waucoma, also known as "Lynch Livestock" and four of its high-level managers have been sentenced in federal court in connection with a scheme which defrauded livestock producers throughout the Midwest, caused over $3 million in loss, and spanned nearly two decades. Lynch Livestock last July entered a guilty plea to one count of Failing to Comply with an Order of the Secretary of Agriculture. A judge for the Northern District of Iowa on Friday sentenced Lynch Livestock to five years of probation, fined the company $196,000, and ordered it to pay back over $3 million in restitution to livestock producers and farmers. In addition to a sentence for the company, four of its top managers have also had sentences imposed. Fort Atkinson resident Charlie Lynch, age 65, has entered a guilty plea to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. On January 13th, Lynch was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $3,000. Waucoma resident Billie Joe Wickham, age 51, has entered a guilty plea to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. On January 13th, Wickham 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. Fredericksburg resident Leland "Pete" Blue, age 60, has entered a guilty plea to one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States. On January 13th, Blue was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $1,000. Fayette resident Tyler Thoms, age 31, has entered a guilty plea to one count of Causing a Livestock Dealer to Keep Inaccurate Accounts and Records. On January 13th, Thoms was sentenced to one year of probation. In its plea agreement, Lynch Livestock admitted that between about 2018 and March 2021, Lynch Livestock's 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. 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. Consequently, Lynch Livestock paid livestock producers less than what was owed. In late 2017, Lynch Livestock and the USDA entered into an administrative consent decision 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. 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. (For the complete news release from the U.S. District 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) UPDATE: Lynch Family Companies has released a statement from Chairman Gary Lynch: "The company has taken full responsibility for all past sorting and weighing issues and we are ready to close this painful chapter. Our company is built on a strong foundation of integrity and trust, which is essential to our relationship with our customers."