Mark Laubenthal, Lying to Bank, Iowa 2018
Former Farmer Sentenced to Prison for Lying to Bank
A former Kossuth County farmer has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for lying to his bank to secure a farm loan and credit.
Mark Laubenthal, 36, of Bancroft, Iowa, was sentenced on September 20, 2018, to 12 months and a day in federal prison for making a false statement to a bank.
According to court documents, Laubenthal received a farm operating loan worth $160,000 and a line of credit worth $750,000 from a bank in the area in 2015. However, he provided false information to the bank on the financial statement he completed, stating that he had $432,040 of crops in storage when he actually had a substantially lower amount.
In addition to the false statement about the crops in storage, Laubenthal also made other false statements to the bank, including telling them he was farming 1,100 acres of land when he was only farming less than 300 acres, and that he had a number of pieces of farm equipment that he did not actually have or own.
When Laubenthal failed to make payments on the loans, the bank declared him to be in default in 2016. During mediation meetings with the bank, Laubenthal made additional false statements, telling them that he had 120,000 bushels of corn in storage and had planted nearly 300 acres of crops for 2016. However, he actually had no crop in storage and had not planted any crops for 2016.
Laubenthal was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Leonard T. Strand and ordered to make $1,044,881.82 in restitution to the victim bank. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Laubenthal was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on October 11, 2018.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General.
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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