Nebraska Farmer Ordered To Pay $1 Million In Restitution For Crop Insurance Fraud

From Nebraska Examiner:

By Paul Hammel

September 5, 2022

LINCOLN — A federal judge has ordered a Newman Grove farmer to pay $1 million in restitution, as well as a $30,000 fine, for making a fraudulent statement on a crop insurance claim.

Ross Nelson, 48, of Newman Grove, had provided false losses of soybeans and corn when he filed a claim in 2015 with an authorized insurance provider that was reinsured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. He received reimbursement of $700,092 for his losses.

But because Nelson’s losses on his Holt County farmland didn’t match that of adjacent farmers, the USDA Risk Management Agency launched an investigation. It found that his claims were inaccurate.

Nelson was found guilty of making a false statement in connection with federal crop insurance. Besides repaying $1 million, he was sentenced to 4 years’ probation as well as 16 weekends of intermittent confinement.

The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the USDA.

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