MAY 28, 2015
BEAVER DAM, WI
A Beaver Dam man has been charged with nine counts of crop insurance fraud and potentially faces prison time and massive fines if convicted.
According
to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern
District of Wisconsin, Jeffery Lewke operated a large farming operation,
farming as many as 12,000 acres during 2011 and 2012.
The United States Department of
Agriculture through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, provides
insurance to farmers for unavoidable crop losses. The FCIC provides
insurance by reinsuring private crop insurance companies for losses
claimed by their policy holders.
According
to the indictment, from 2009 through 2013, Lewke knowingly devised and
executed a scheme to defraud a crop insurance company that was reinsured
by the FCIC in a number of ways. Among the alleged violations are:
- Falsely representing that he was prevented from planting corn due to excessive moisture on land that was actually planted with corn, land that he did own or lease, land that established waterways, and land that was fenced-off for livestock
- Falsely representing that he irrigated land more times than he actually did;
- Falsely representing that he sold damaged crops to a third party by submitting a receipt of a cancelled transaction to the crop insurance company;
- Falsely representing the county from which he harvested corn so as to increase his insurance claim; and
- Falsely under-reporting his crop production so as to increase his insurance claim.
Counts
one through three of the indictment charge Lewke for using interstate
wires in the execution of his scheme to defraud. Each count carries a
maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of
supervised release.
Counts four through nine of the indictment charge Lewke for making false statements with the purpose of influencing a crop insurance company. Each count carries a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and 5 years of supervised release.
Lewke was charged after a long-term investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General.Counts four through nine of the indictment charge Lewke for making false statements with the purpose of influencing a crop insurance company. Each count carries a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and 5 years of supervised release.