USA - Kansas farmer admits defrauding USDA crop insurance

22.10.2019 846 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
01.11.2026

India - e-KYC must for crop insurance claims on cyclone-hit crops

AP Agriculture Department Director Dr. Manazir Jeelani Samoon makes e-KYC verification mandatory for e-Crop booking to claim Cyclone Arnab crop insurance.

01.11.2026

India - SBI General Insurance Rolls Out ‘Meri Policy Mere Haath’ Campaign Across Nine States for Kharif 2026

SBI General Insurance will participate in the Government of India’s ‘Meri Policy Mere Haath’ (MPMH) campaign for Kharif 2026, aimed at ensuring the direct distribution of crop insurance policy documents to farmers and strengthening awareness about the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

01.11.2026

Climate change helps insects devour more crops even as farmers spray more pesticides

Many agricultural pests are benefiting from climate change.

01.11.2026

India - OUAT issues post-cyclone farm advisory for Ganjam; cautions against crop damage, pest attacks

The Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) on Friday issued a post-cyclone agrometeorological advisory for Ganjam district in the aftermath of Cyclone Arnab, warning farmers of possible crop damage, pest infestations and diseases due to waterlogging and excess moisture. The advisory outlines precautionary measures to protect crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries as the district recovers from the storm.

01.11.2026

USA - Managing year-round hydroponic production in South Florida

Sunswell Greens operates two greenhouse farms in South Florida, producing specialty lettuces and microgreens for retail and foodservice markets. The Lake Worth and Punta Gorda facilities each cover slightly more than two acres, with different hydroponic configurations: floating raft production in Lake Worth and nutrient film technique (NFT) in Punta Gorda.

01.11.2026

Dutch sales offices offer Southern Hemisphere fruit exporters direct access to European markets

Each season, large volumes of Chilean and other Southern Hemisphere fruit arrive in Rotterdam. A growing number of exporters are having their own presence in the Netherlands.

29.10.2026

USA - Aon and SAGE launch precision crop insurance program

Aon and agricultural risk intelligence company SAGE have announced a crop insurance program with AgriCap, targeting corn and soybean growers in 15 states for the 2027 crop year.

29.10.2026

Canada - BC crop insurance programme ‘not fit for purpose’

Producers in British Columbia are struggling in the wake of “unprecedented” smoke taint in the Okanagan Valley due to a discrepancy in the government’s insurance initiative.