Missouri Man was Fifth Man Sentenced for Playing a Role in
Largest Organic Grain Fraud Scheme in U.S. History
A Missouri man who assisted in perpetrating the largest
organic grain fraud scheme in United States history was sentenced today to
nearly two years in federal prison.
Another Missouri man and three farmers from Nebraska were previously
sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a scheme to defraud customers
across the country.
John Burton, age 52, from Clarksdale, Missouri, received the
prison term after a May 10, 2019 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to
commit wire fraud. Evidence at
sentencing showed that Burton grew grain that was not organic and sold it to
Randy Constant, knowing that Constant was going to market and sell the grain as
organic. By selling his grain to
Constant, Burton was able to receive a premium, selling the grain for more than
he could have on the open market. Burton
also worked for Constant, raising grain on farm fields that Constant either
owned or rented. While doing this work,
Burton often sprayed Constant’s fields with chemicals and fertilizers, even
though he knew those substances were not allowed on organic fields. Burton either sold or raised over $5,000,000
in crops for Constant. Overall,
Constant’s scheme involved at least $142,433,475 in grain sales, and the vast
majority of those sales were fraudulent in that the grain he sold was not
organic even though it was marketed as organic.
Burton was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States
District Court Judge C.J. Williams.
Burton was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment. He was also ordered to forfeit over
$1,000,000 in proceeds from his crime and was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys
Jacob Schunk and Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the United States
Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
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