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North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to $1 Million Cattle Theft Scheme
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Mount Airy man has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for his role in a $1 million scheme involving the theft of livestock, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
William Dalton Edwards, 25, of Mount Airy, N.C., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the laws of the United States. Edwards was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the laws of the United States.
According to plea documents and the plea hearing, from April 2018 to October 2022, Edwards conspired with another person to defraud livestock markets, also known as sales barns, in Iredell and Cleveland Counties, North Carolina, and in Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia. The investigation determined that, on multiple occasions during the relevant time frame, Edwards and his coconspirator purchased cattle from sales barns in North Carolina and wrote checks to pay for the cattle. Edwards and his coconspirator wrote such checks knowing they were worthless, since there were insufficient funds to cover the checks and pay for the cattle.
According to court records, Edwards and his coconspirator arranged to transport the cattle out-of-state before the defrauded sales barns and financial institutions could determine their checks were worthless. The stolen cattle were then resold in Texas and Oklahoma. Over the course of the scheme, Edwards and his coconspirator fraudulently obtained more than 3,000 head of cattle and caused over $1 million in losses to sales barns in North Carolina, Virginia and Texas.
The sales barns—which are family-owned in North Carolina—incurred these losses because they are required to pay farmers and ranchers immediately after the sale of their livestock. Edwards pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the laws of the United States.
The statutory maximum for the charged offense is five years in prison, and any restitution or fines ordered by the Court at sentencing. Edwards is released on bond. A sentencing date has not been set.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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