In recent months, federal prosecutors and government agencies facing mounting political pressure to curtail waste in all USDA programs have been aggressively seeking out and prosecuting farmers for acts of crop insurance fraud. Farmers who are convicted of crop insurance fraud may face millions of dollars in fines and restitution and years of incarceration in the federal penitentiary system. Even pleading to a “minor”, probation-only violation can lead to voidance of the producer’s insurance policies, loss of many thousands of dollars in indemnity payments, debarment from participation in federal farm protection programs and placement on RMA’s Ineligible Tracking System (ITS) list.
But the complex nuances of the federally reinsured crop insurance system are far removed from the drug trafficking and RICO cases commonly associated with federal criminal courts. Sometimes the government’s enthusiasm to make an example of farmers with signficant claims outstrips its understanding of the facts of the case, the realities of modern agribusiness and the law and procedure of the crop insurance system. Farmers who are facing criminal prosecution for acts of alleged crop insurance fraud need defense attorneys with the skills to bring the whole picture into focus for the judge and jury.
