Farmer Faces $19.7M Judgment in Fraud

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- A Minnesota farmer has been ordered by a federal court to forfeit property toward a $19.7 million judgment after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with an organic crops conspiracy.

James Clayton Wolf and Adam Clifford Olson are scheduled to be sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on Oct. 26 in a scheme to falsely sell $46 million in non-GMO corn and soybeans as organic. Both men were indicted by grand juries.

A preliminary order issued by the court on Oct. 6 outlines a list of property and money that Wolf is required to forfeit.

That includes funds from seven bank accounts totaling at least $7 million, six tracts of land, about 15 farm implements and other equipment, two semi-trucks, three pickups and two sports cars.

Under federal law, wire fraud is a Class C felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and $250,000 in fines.

For years, the Cottonwood County, Minnesota, farmer provided grain purchasers with copies of his National Organics Program certification, but according to an indictment against him, Wolf withheld information that the grains were not organically farmed. The scheme resulted in Wolf allegedly receiving more than $46 million in payments from grain buyers.

The indictment alleged Wolf directed some grain payments to a third party who then "spent the money for Wolf's benefit." His organic-farming certification was revoked in 2020. The indictment, however, alleges Wolf "utilized an associate" to continue the scheme by selling non-GMO crops as organic.

This past spring, the court rejected a request by Wolf to have farm equipment seized from his farm as part of the investigation and returned to allow him to farm in 2023.

Wolf and other associates communicated with a grain supplier and with buyers via email and telephone, including sending documents "falsely describing" the grain as organically grown.

Organic crops are grown without the use of GMOs or chemicals, and farmers are required to follow strict protocols when it comes to planting, fertilizing, harvesting, storage and transportation of the crops labeled as organic.

In addition, Olson, owner and operator of Olson Seed LLC in Windom, Minnesota, pleaded guilty to making false statements. Olson could spend up to 14 months in jail.

Read more on DTN:

"Indicted Farmer Changes Plea to Guilty," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

"Second Man Pleads Guilty in Crops Fraud," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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