MN Farmer Sentenced To Prison After Passing Off Conventional Grain As Organic

COTTONWOOD COUNTY, MN — A farmer from southwestern Minnesota was sentenced this week to three years in prison after he fraudulently sold conventional grain as organic, according to reports.

James Clayton Wolf of Cottonwood County pleaded guilty in May to one count of wire fraud, authorities said.

From 2013 to 2021, he schemed to defraud purchasers by selling them non-GMO grain and passing it off as organic, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Wolf bought the conventional grain from a supplier and resold it, netting over $19.6 million, which he used to purchase real estate, vehicles, farm equipment and investments, authorities said.

In his plea, he agreed to forfeit the proceeds of the fraud, according to the department.

He was sentenced Monday, the Star Tribune reported.

Also Monday, his godson and nephew, Adam Clifford Olson, was sentenced to two years of supervised probation as well as 100 hours of community service because he signed an insurance document falsely stating Wolf’s fields were organically certified, according to the newspaper. Wolf lost the certification in 2020, the Tribune reported.

Olson also signed a check for almost $70,000 in restitution, his attorney told the Tribune.