An Iowa farmer was sentenced on Friday for defrauding a federal agency in relation to crop loans and farm subsidies. Donald Yotter applied for $350,000 in crop loans administered by the Commodity Credit Corporation. The CCC, a government corporation created in 1933, is dedicated to stabilizing, supporting, and protecting farm income and prices, through loans, purchases, payments, and other financial activities. The CCC also holds money for various U.S. Department of Agriculture programs.

Yotter’s $350,000 loan was secured with crops grown on his farms in Henry and Louisa counties, Iowa.

This routine farm loan was disrupted when spot checks by the USDA revealed that many of the crops Yotter used as collateral didn’t exist, while others were sold without agency approval. Upon this discovery, a thorough investigation was performed by the Farm Service Agency and the Office of the Inspector General.

Yotter was charged with three counts of making false statements to a federal agency with regards to crop loans. Yoetter pled guilty and was sentenced to 366 days in prison, a $300 fine, and three years of supervised release after his prison sentence.

At the time of his sentencing, Yotter had repaid over $341,000 of his loan to the USDA.

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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer