Rancher sentenced for running $244m ‘ghost cattle’ scam. A cattle rancher in Washington has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for defrauding Tyson Foods and another company out of more than $244 million by charging the victim companies for the purported costs of purchasing and feeding hundreds of thousands of cattle that did not exist.
According to court documents, Cody Allen Easterday used his company, Easterday Ranches Inc., to enter into a series of agreements with the companies under which Easterday Ranches agreed to purchase and feed cattle for them. Per the agreements, Tyson and the other company would advance Easterday Ranches the costs of buying and raising the cattle. Once the cattle were slaughtered and sold at market price, Easterday Ranches would repay the costs advanced – plus interest and certain other costs – retaining the difference as profit.( READ BEEF MAGAZINE ON SIDE BAR.)
