According to Whittington, Some of the defendants admitted cheating federal and private crop insurance programs by less than $10,000 while others pleaded guilty to participating in multi-million dollar frauds.
“Whether the theft was of a few thousand dollars or millions, these individuals took advantage of the program,” Whittington said. “They were stealing money from taxpayers and stealing money from the honest farmers who now pay a higher premium,” said Whittington in a statement.
Different schemes
Whittington said they found that the defendants used different schemes to defraud crop insurance programs.
For example, a tobacco farmer will conspire with an insurance agent and an adjuster to attest that his crop has been damaged by storms or pests. In reality, the farmer’s crop was of good quality.
The farmer will then file an insurance claim using the report from insurance agents and adjusters that his crop was ruined. He will receive insurance money and will pay kickbacks to the insurance agent and the adjusted who conspired with him.
