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National & World Ag News Headlines |
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SD Man Charged for Mislabeling Products as Organic
USAgNet - 02/19/2020
A South Dakota man has been indicted in federal court on allegations that he was marketing conventional agricultural products as organic for at least five years and using the proceeds to propel him to an extravagant lifestyle of yachts, jewelry and fancy vehicles
in a Florida mansion. But public records in North Dakota and South Dakota show that Kent Duane Anderson may have been skirting grain trading regulations and failing to pay farmers and grain elevators since at least 2006.
According to Grand Forks Herald, a federal grand jury on Feb. 4 indicted Anderson on 42 counts for the alleged scheme--one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 12 of wire fraud, 12 of monetary transactions to promote unlawful activity and 17 of monetary
transactions in criminally derived property.
Last week, Anderson pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could face prison time and could be forced to forfeit any property related to the offenses, as well as more than $27 million.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann ordered Anderson released from jail pending future court proceedings.
For six years between 2012 through 2018, Anderson allegedly purchased $47 million in grain from his business accounts, of which $46 million was for non-organic products. In the same time frame, the businesses sold $75 million in products. Of that $75
million, 95%, or $71 million, was for sales of non-organic products falsely labeled "organic," federal prosecutors allege.
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