USA - Kansas farmer admits defrauding USDA crop insurance

22.10.2019 603 views
A Kansas farmer has admitted to defrauding federal government crop insurance programs before lying in court documents when filing for bankruptcy. Trego County farmer Kevin W. Struss pleaded guilty Monday at a federal courthouse in Wichita to one count of federal crop insurance fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud, court documents show. In the plea deal, prosecutors said they plan to ask the court for more than $2.1 million in restitution. That total includes more than $600,000 in insurance premium benefits, more than $1.2 million in federal crop insurance premium subsidies and more than $270,000 in administrative costs. Struss admitted in the plea agreement that in the spring of 2015 he devised a scheme to defraud the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. The plan involved making false proof of loss statements that under-reported his total harvested bushels of corn and grain sorghum, which is also known as milo. Those crops had been insured with an FCIC subsidy. As a result of the scheme, he was paid crop insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
Then in April 2018, Struss filed for bankruptcy. He marked that he had not transferred property to anyone in the previous two years. In fact, Struss admitted in his guilty plea, he had transferred $470,000 to someone else within the three months before he filed for bankruptcy. Though Struss is only charged with crop insurance fraud from the 2015 reports, prosecutors alleged that his scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture continued with false reports in 2016 and 2017. The criminal case was filed against the rural WaKeeney farmer earlier this month. That first year, in 2015, Struss allegedly under-reporting the yields of his corn crop by about 23,524 bushels and his grain sorghum crop by about 31,208 bushels. The alleged false reports resulted in Struss receiving about $201,000 in federal crop insurance benefits and about $511,000 in federal crop insurance premium subsidies that he was not entitled to. Prosecutors also say the scheme led the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to pay additional administrative costs to ARMtech Insurance Services that would not have been paid if the reports were accurate. In 2016, prosecutors alleged, Struss under-reported his corn crop by about 116,194 bushels and sought more than $1.5 million in federal crop insurance indemnification payments to which he was not entitled. The claim was denied by Rural Community Insurance Services. Federal court records show that Struss sued Rural Community Insurance Services in April 2018 in relation to his 2016 corn crop. That case is in arbitration. In a separate case filed that same month, Struss sued the USDA, Risk Management Agency and Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, also in relation to his 2016 corn crop. A federal judge in Kansas City ruled in favor of the government agencies this summer. In 2017, prosecutors alleged, Struss under-reported his sorghum crop by about 35,530 bushels, causing Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company to pay him more than $108,000 in benefits to which he was not entitled. Prosecutors alleged in the bankruptcy fraud charge that Struss lied in his petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2018 because he had wired $470,000 to Kellie Acker in the previous months. A pair of online obituaries show Acker was Struss’s sister-in-law in 2015 and was his fiance in 2018.
Source - https://www.kansas.com
04.06.2026

India - Delhi raises crop damage compensation after 10 years by over 50% to Rs 75,000 per hectare

In a major relief for farmers, the Delhi government has increased compensation for crop loss caused by rain and hailstorms from Rs 20,000 per acre to Rs 75,000 per hectare.

04.06.2026

Why Tech-Driven Agro-Insurance Has Stumbled in Ethiopia

For decades, Ethiopia’s agricultural sector has remained trapped in a dangerous paradox. 

04.06.2026

UK - Rural crime cost Wales £2.2m last year despite fall in offences

Rural crime cost Wales an estimated £2.2 million last year, with organised criminals continuing to target tractors, livestock and farming equipment despite an overall fall in offences, according to a new report.

04.06.2026

Kenyan Agro-Insurance Startup, Pula Raises US$ 20 Million in Series B Round

Pula, a Kenyan startup that offers insurance to small-scale farmers, aims to serve more than 100 million farmers in Africa after raising US$ 20 million in its Series B round. 

04.06.2026

USA - USDA announces $52M to boost public access to private lands for hunting, fishing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing $52 million to help state and tribal governments encourage private landowners to allow public access to their land for hunting, fishing and other wildlife-dependent recreation through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). 

04.06.2026

Hope Grows in Malawi’s Grain Stores as Farmers Battle Post-Harvest Losses

Some grain rots in poorly ventilated storage. Some is eaten by pests. Some is damaged during drying or transportation before it ever reaches the market.

03.06.2026

Canada - AFSC extends several northern Alberta seeding dates for 2026

Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) is extending the recommended seeding dates in the province’s northeast, northwest and Peace regions for several crops for the 2026 growing season only.

03.06.2026

India - Elephants run amok in Konaje agricultural farm, cause massive crop damage

A herd of elephants, including calves, wreaked havoc on an agricultural farm belonging to Yashodhara Gowda at Pallattadka in Konaje village of Kadaba taluk.