Prison ordered for Missouri farmer who sold other people’s cattle

A Missouri cattle farmer was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison for selling more than 600 head of cattle that did not belong to him.

Garland Joseph “Joey” Nelson, 22, of Braymer, Mo., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Kansas City where he pleaded guilty last November to conducting several fraud schemes.

The schemes cost victims in the case more than $262,000, according to federal prosecutors.

Part of the case involved Nelson selling cattle that had been mortgaged as part of loans he had received from the Farm Service Agency.

The loan agreement required him to provide the proceeds of the sales to the agency, but he kept most of the money for himself, prosecutors said.

Nelson also removed identification tags from cattle owned by other people that had been allowed to graze on his property. He sold more than 600 animals that belonged to others.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 4:18 PM.