Payne Pleads Guilty

Philip G. Payne, 50, of Ryan, Iowa, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make and deliver false certificates and writings in a federal court in Cedar Rapids.

According to the plea agreement, Payne, the former Operations Manager for Midamar Corporation, admitted that between about April 2007 and December 2009, employees of Midamar knowingly and without authorization removed USDA marks of inspection from meat products and replaced them with marks of inspection from facilities other than where the meat was slaughtered.

This was done at the direction, and with the knowledge and approval, of Midamar’s owners and managers. Further, false USDA export documents, health certificates, and Halal export certificates were generated for at least 22 shipments of beef during the same period.

These actions were taken with the intent to make the beef eligible for import into countries that would otherwise not have accepted the beef shipments. Payne also admitted that, as demand for Halal beef supplied by Midamar grew, Midamar supplemented its sales of purported Halal beef with kosher beef slaughtered by rabbis, without any participation or oversight by a Muslim slaughterman.

Payne could be sentenced up to one year imprisonment and fined up to $100,000. A term of supervised release of up to one year could be ordered following any term of imprisonment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard L. Murphy and Timothy Vavricek.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number being 14-CR-00143-LRR.

The guilty plea is a significant development in the case, which highlights the importance of ensuring the integrity of the food supply chain. The use of false certificates and writings can have serious consequences, including compromising public health and safety.

RELATED: Casino Bomb Threat Lands Man in Court

RELATED: Ex-COO Pleads Guilty in $132M Fraud Scheme