USA - Kansas farmer admits defrauding USDA crop insurance

22.10.2019 861 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
09.11.2026

USA - Modernizing crop insurance to strengthen agricultural resilience

American agriculture stands at a turning point. Increasingly severe weather and water risks are driving billions in losses — more than $20 billion in 2024 alone — increasing farmers’ financial exposure and an urgent need for more adaptive insurance solutions. 

09.11.2026

Afghanistan - Greenhouse expansion raises concerns over soil, environmental damage

While greenhouses help boost agricultural production and meet market demand, experts warn that the excessive or unbalanced use of chemical fertilisers, water shortages and improper disposal of agricultural plastics can damage soil fertility and the environment.

09.11.2026

USA - Illinois Launches Cover Crop Insurance Savings Program for 2027

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is offering its insurance discount program for cover crops for the eighth year.

09.11.2026

Brazil - Interest rates and credit top agribusiness concerns

Participants call for fiscal adjustment, agricultural insurance, and policies aimed at the sector.

09.11.2026

USA - Revenue Protection crop insurance with harvest option see higher price guarantees in 2026

Prices remain below estimated break-even levels, underscoring the importance of crop insurance as farmers manage elevated production costs and tight margins heading into 2027. 

09.11.2026

Spanish kaki supply could be compromised by CO₂ gas shortages

In the coming days, the supply of Spanish kakis could be compromised due to a shortage of CO₂ gas, a key component in the deastringency process that makes the fruit marketable.

08.11.2026

Tanzania Secures $997,000 AfDB Grant to Expand Climate Insurance for Farmers

The project, titled “Bridging the Agricultural Risk Protection Gap to Scale Climate Smart Insurance,” is expected to benefit 300,000 farmers across 15 regions of Tanzania.

08.11.2026

India - Pune’s Crop Insurance Test Begins as Drought Cuts Kharif Yields

Pune’s crop insurance system is now facing a significant test after crop-cutting experiments recorded a 20-22% decline in soybean productivity and a 15% fall in maize production during a drought-affected kharif season.