Farmer resold grains ‘falsely labeled’ as organic in $46 million scheme, feds say
Grains that were not grown organically were labeled as organic when a Minnesota farmer resold them, according to federal officials.
Now the farmer has been charged in federal court on three counts of wire fraud.
Authorities say James Clayton Wolf, 64, of Jeffers, tricked buyers in a “$46 million organic grain fraud scheme.”
Starting in October 2014 and until at least 2020, court records state the certified organic farmer “repeatedly purchased non-organic corn and soybeans from a grain seller and resold the grain as organic product.”
Not only was Wolf buying non-GMO (non-genetically modified organisms) grain to sell as organic, he was also doing so without a grain buyer license required by law, according to federal prosecutors.
The Cottonwood County farmer is also accused of growing “conventionally farmed crops” — ones grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides — then selling them as organic products.
“Mr Wolf is a sixty-five year old career farmer, who has never been trouble,” his defense attorney, Paul Engh, said in a statement to McClatchy News. “He’s looking forward to the trial and the vindication of his good name.”
Organic crops are grown using “strict protocols” and are more expensive when sold to consumers. Because of this, organic grains can be sold for more than genetically modified or non-GMO grains. Officials said most grains used today are conventional non-GMO — meaning the seeds have not been modified, and they have been grown with the use of chemicals.
In lying to buyers about his falsely labeled grains, authorities say Wolf received more than $46 million from grain buyers. Those buyers would not have bought grains from him if they knew they had not been organically farmed, prosecutors said.
Authorities say some of Wolf’s proceeds were directed to a third party, who then spent the money in ways that benefited the farmer.
Wolf’s organic farming certification was revoked in 2020, but court records say he continued the scheme by using an associate to fraudulently sell non-organic crops as organic ones.
He and his associates sent buyers false documents that described non-GMO grains as organic, federal prosecutors said.
Wolf is expected to make his first U.S. District Court appearance on July 22.
Jeffers is about 145 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
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