Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Former Eastern Livestock employees indicted on charges of theft and organized crime

Four men who used to work for the defunct Eastern Livestock, LLC have been indicted in Kentucky  for their alleged involvement in what state Attorney General Jack Conway calls a "check-kiting" scheme that cost 172 Kentucky cattle producers over $840,000 in 2010.

Thomas "Tommy" Gibson, 71; Steve McDonald, 59; and Grant Gibson, 48, all of Lanesville, Ind., and Darren Brangers, 43, of Louisville, allegedly took part in organized crime between 2009 and 2010 by collaborating in a criminal syndicate in order to commit theft. They were also indicted on 17 counts of theft by deception over $10,000, 144 counts of theft by deception over $500 and under $10,000 and 11 counts of theft by deception under $500.

According to a press release from Conway's office, this investigation has been ongoing since December 2010. At the time, Eastern Livestock was one of the largest cattle brokerages in America. Conway's office set up a hotline for victims of the scheme and received many complaints from producers saying they received bad checks for livestock sales from the company. Eastern Livestock owes about $130 million. The investigation revealed that over 280 of the almost 800 victims live in Kentucky. The indictment was returned in Metcalfe County, site of an Eastern facility.

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