Michael Throne Sentenced

Michael Throne, a 61-year-old Iowa farmer from Scarville, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme to defraud financial institutions.

On September 11, 2020, Throne received the prison term after a February 12, 2020 guilty plea to one count of False Statement to a Financial Institution. During his change of plea and sentencing hearings, it was revealed that Throne began stealing from and lying to his banks, converting property pledged as collateral and overstating the value of remaining collateral to obtain additional funds.

Throne’s scheme, which began sometime before January 2018, involved altering futures contracts to inflate his anticipated income streams. When his scheme collapsed and was detected by the bank, he confessed his crimes to the bank. Throne was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.

In addition to his 24-month prison sentence, Throne was ordered to make $1,474,964.61 in restitution to the First State Bank of Kiester and $625,445.48 in restitution to the Farm Service Agency (FSA). He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Throne was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prison on a date yet to be set. The case was investigated by the USDA, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Forde Fairchild, Ajay Alexander, Matt Cole, and Marty McLaughlin.

Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number 20-3003. For more information, follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA. The sentencing of Michael Throne serves as a reminder of the consequences of committing bank fraud and the importance of honesty in financial dealings.

The investigation and prosecution of Throne’s case demonstrate the collaboration between federal agencies to combat financial crimes. The USDA, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked together to bring Throne to justice, and the prosecution was led by a team of experienced Assistant United States Attorneys.