Christopher G Hickerson, Crop Insurance and Tax Fraud, Kentucky 2024

Fleming County Magistrate Christopher G. Hickerson, 47, has been sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit crop insurance fraud and tax fraud.

A federal court in Kentucky handed down the sentence to Hickerson on Wednesday, with U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove presiding. Hickerson was found guilty of filing false claims of loss on his Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (“MPCI”) policies from 2009 until 2016.

The evidence presented established that Hickerson committed crop insurance fraud with the assistance of coconspirators Roger Wilson, former owner of Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse, and Debra Muse, former employee at Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse. Hickerson obtained fake Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse sales receipts and grading reports that made it appear as though he produced and sold poor quality tobacco.

Testimony during a sentencing hearing revealed that Hickerson employed other schemes to defraud the federal crop insurance program, including by placing crop insurance policies in his family member and friends’ names covering his own crop. As a result, Hickerson fraudulently caused a loss of nearly $1 million to the taxpayer-funded insurance program.

Hickerson further admitted that he underreported his crop sales income in 2012, 2013, and 2015. This caused a second loss to the federal government – this time to the IRS – of more than $150,000 in unpaid taxes.

Under federal law, Hickerson must serve 85 percent of his sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for a period of three years. Hickerson must also pay restitution that will be determined later by the Court.

The investigation was a collaborative effort between the USDA, FBI, IRS, and the Kentucky Department of Insurance. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Anderson and Erin Roth.

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