Farmer Indicted For Falsifying Harvest Loads At Farmers Cooperative

BIRMINGHAM -- A federal grand jury today indicted a north Alabama farmer for making false statements about harvest loads delivered to the Alabama Farmers Cooperative in Decatur, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Craig Caldwell and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General-Investigations, Special Agent in Charge Karen Wilcox-Citizen.

TOMMY MIRREL RABY Jr., 52, of Toney, is charged in a one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court. Raby, aided by others, falsely reported harvest loads he made to the cooperative in Decatur between November 2009 and March 2013, according to the indictment.

Raby's indictment follows the July indictments of four employees of the Alabama Farmers Cooperative for making false statements concerning harvest weight loads. Court documents in those cases show the cooperative lost nearly $1.3 million because those employees inflated or completely fabricated grain weight tickets issued to Raby.

The AFC employees indicted were AARON BLAKE WILLIAMS, 25, and TYLER THOMAS GLAZE, 26, both of Decatur, JAMES EDWARD TOON JR., 35, of Elkmont, and JOSHUA WAYNE HOLT, 32, of Hartselle. All four have pleaded guilty to the charge.

Holt, Williams, Glaze and Toon all acknowledge in plea agreements with the government that they aided each other in creating false weight tickets for Raby. All five divided proceeds of the scheme, according to the plea agreements.

The farmers' cooperative is licensed under a federal act that is regulated by a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The maximum penalty for making false statements to the government is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Secret Service and USDA, OIG, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney David H. Estes is prosecuting.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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