USA - Kansas farmer admits defrauding USDA crop insurance

22.10.2019 572 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
18.05.2026

USA - USDA Rolls Out Livestock Insurance Program Enhancements as Producer Premiums Top $1.7 Billion

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) on Monday is announcing a sweeping package of updates to its three flagship livestock insurance products — Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) and Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) — beginning with the 2027 crop year. 

18.05.2026

Puerto Rico - Department of Agriculture recommends farmers seek insurance protection against hurricanes

More than 4,000 farmers applied for agricultural insurance ahead of hurricane season in Puerto Rico.

18.05.2026

Bangladesh - Sunamganj farmers face cattle feed crisis after haor crop loss

Farmers and cattle rearers in Sunamganj’s haor region are facing growing uncertainty over livestock feed following heavy rainfall that damaged paddy crops and disrupted straw collection, the main source of cattle fodder.

18.05.2026

From farm risk to value chain resilience: Food system benefits of agricultural insurance

The global landscape of agricultural risk has been changing dramatically. More frequent and intense climate and economic shocks have become the norm.

18.05.2026

Sri Lanka - Govt. to provide compensation for weather-damaged crops through Agrarian Insurance Board

Compensation for crop damage caused by the recent adverse weather conditions will be provided through the Agricultural and Agrarian Insurance Board, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Namal Karunaratne has stated.

18.05.2026

Nepal - Rain inflicts crop damage worth Rs 460 million in Kavrepalanchowk

Recent heavy rainfall caused agricultural losses worth hundreds of millions of rupees in two local levels of Kavrepalanchowk district, according to official estimates.

14.05.2026

ASF outbreak deepens uncertainty for Bhutan’s pig farmers

The ministry urged farmers to immediately strengthen farm biosecurity by restricting visitors, preventing contact between domestic and wild pigs, and ensuring that any kitchen waste fed to pigs is boiled and cooked for at least 30 minutes.

14.05.2026

More focus on early detection of Nesidiocoris

In Northern Europe, the predatory bug Nesidiocoris tenuis, commonly referred to as Nesi, presents a growing challenge for tomato growers.