LEXINGTON, Ky. — A 46-year-old Paris, Ky. man is facing federal charges in a massive crop insurance fraud scheme that allegedly defrauded the federal government of millions. Ronnie Jolly was indicted on March 1, 2018, on 29 criminal counts, including conspiracy to violate federal law, multiple counts of making false statements to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), wire fraud, money laundering, and structuring cash transactions to evade reporting requirements.
The federal grand jury in Lexington charged Jolly with one count of conspiracy to violate federal law, six counts of making false statements to influence the FCIC and its reinsured companies, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 21 counts of money laundering, and one count of structuring currency transactions. As an agricultural producer of tobacco, corn, and soybeans across Bath, Bourbon, Fleming, Montgomery, and Scott Counties, Jolly allegedly hid his true crop output from insurers to falsely claim widespread crop damage—triggering federal indemnity payouts funded by taxpayer-backed programs.
According to the indictment, Jolly went to elaborate lengths to avoid scrutiny. He obtained crop insurance policies under the names of his employees and other third parties for crops he himself produced. By spreading fraudulent damage claims across multiple policyholders, he masked the scale of his fraud and sidestepped red flags that would normally trigger federal audits or investigations. He also secured private crop insurance policies in others’ names, further obscuring his involvement.
Jolly allegedly laundered the illicit proceeds through at least 21 bank transactions, using funds from fraudulent crop insurance indemnity checks and fake crop sales. In a brazen attempt to dodge federal reporting laws, he withdrew $9,500 in cash on four consecutive days—structuring withdrawals just below the $10,000 threshold that requires financial institutions to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs).
The indictment was announced jointly by Robert M. Duncan, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Karen Citizen-Wilcox, Special Agent in Charge of the USDA Office of Inspector General; Amy Hess of the FBI; Christopher Altemus of IRS-Criminal Investigation; and Dwayne Depp, Director of the Kentucky Department of Insurance Fraud Investigation Division. The probe was led by the USDA OIG, USDA Risk Management Agency, FBI, IRS-CI, and Kentucky Department of Insurance, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn M. Anderson and Erin M. Roth presenting the case to the grand jury.
If convicted, Jolly faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each false statement to the FCIC, 20 years and $250,000 for the wire fraud conspiracy and structuring charges, 10 years and $250,000 for each money laundering count, and 5 years plus a $250,000 fine for the federal conspiracy charge. No trial date has been set. As with all federal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Kentucky
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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