Lillehoe and Calderon Convicted in USDA Export Fraud Scheme

Brett C. Lillemoen, 46, of Minneapolis, Minn., and Pablo Calderon, 61, of Darien, Conn., were convicted today on federal charges tied to a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud U.S. banks using the USDA’s Export Credit Guarantee Program. A federal jury in New Haven returned guilty verdicts on conspiracy and fraud counts after a trial that began October 5 before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall. The pair was found not guilty on several additional charges, but the core convictions expose a brazen abuse of a program meant to support American farmers.

The fraud centered on the GSM-102 program, a USDA-backed initiative designed to guarantee credit for exports of U.S. agricultural goods to foreign markets. The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), an arm of the USDA, issues payment guarantees to encourage financing by U.S. banks when foreign buyers place orders. The system relies on verified shipping documents—like bills of lading and certificates of origin—to ensure exports are real. Lillemoen and Calderon didn’t play by the rules. They falsified and altered these documents to make it appear that shipments had been made when they hadn’t.

Between September 2007 and January 2012, the defendants submitted fraudulent paperwork to U.S. financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank A.G. and CoBank ACB of Colorado, to trigger funding under the guaranteed credit lines. The banks, believing the exports were legitimate, advanced millions to exporters who then assigned repayment rights to the banks. But the transactions were a shell game—no real shipments followed. When foreign banks inevitably failed to pay, the U.S. lenders were left holding the bag, forced to file claims with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service for up to 98% of lost funds.

To maximize their take, Lillemoen and Calderon created multiple front companies with different names and bank accounts, making each appear independent. This allowed them to bypass allocation limits under the GSM-102 program and siphon more guaranteed credit. The jury heard evidence that the defendants bought or otherwise obtained legitimate shipping documents for unrelated, actual shipments and then altered them to match fictitious export deals—engineering a paper trail to fool banks and regulators.

The USDA program was built to help American farmers and ranchers reach developing markets where credit is scarce. Instead, Lillemoen and Calderon treated it like a piggy bank. Their actions didn’t just steal from banks—they undermined a federal initiative meant to support U.S. trade and rural economies. Every dollar fraudulently claimed was a dollar stripped from the program’s intent: to grow American exports, not finance criminal enterprise.

U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced the verdicts this afternoon, calling the scheme a calculated betrayal of public trust. Sentencing details have not yet been set. Lillemoen and Calderon face significant prison time and financial penalties. The case was investigated by federal authorities with the USDA’s Office of Inspector General and other agencies. A third defendant, tried alongside them, was acquitted on all counts.