In a brazen case of farm fraud, Raymond A. Schaefer, a 41-year-old man from Mason City, Iowa, has been sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay over $300,000 in restitution. The defendant was found guilty of making false statements for the purpose of influencing a financial institution.
According to court documents, Schaefer obtained a promissory note and received a $435,000 FSA (Farm Service Agency) guaranteed line-of-credit through MidWestOne Bank in Mason City, Iowa. However, instead of using the funds for their intended purpose, Schaefer gambled large amounts of money and depleted the balance of his car lot bank account and his farm account with MidWestOne Bank.
To fund his gambling habit, Schaefer provided false information to the bank, misrepresenting the value and existence of his assets. He claimed to have 68,000 bushels of corn and 4,000 bushels of soybeans, when in fact he had none. This deceitful behavior was uncovered by the bank in late 2007 and early 2008.
On March 21, 2013, Schaefer entered a guilty plea to making a false statement. The defendant was subsequently sentenced on July 8, 2013 to 24 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade in Cedar Rapids.
In addition to his prison sentence, Schaefer was ordered to pay $370,803.89 in restitution, $157,587.43 to MidWestOne Bank and $213,216.46 to Farm Service Agency. He will also serve a five-year term of supervised release after completing his prison term.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Bowers and United States Attorney Sean Berry. It was investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General, the Farm Service Agency, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
The case file number is 12-3047 and can be accessed at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Related Federal Cases
- Raymond A. Schaefer, Making False Statements to a Financial Institution, Iowa 2013 · Iowa
- Jeffrey J. Kinseth, Wire Fraud, Iowa 2009 · Iowa
- Raymundo Sierra-Mendez, Passport Fraud and Social Security Fraud, Iowa 2014 · Illinois
- Stephanie Drake, Bank Fraud and Forgery, Iowa 2014 · Iowa
- Gwendolyn Murray, Tax Fraud and Identity Theft, Iowa 2015 · Iowa
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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