Domestic organic fraud of this kind is relatively uncommon because organic farms are inspected and audited by their organic certifying agent. Organic producers must supply their certifier with paperwork backing up their agricultural practices, including reconciling inputs such as seed and how much crop is marketed.

This farm was certified by Organic Certifiers (OC) of California. Was OC knowingly a co-conspirator too? Unlikely. Was OC negligent in inspecting this farm? Or was the sophisticated approach developed by the perpetrators something that any certifier would be hard-pressed to identify? The Cornucopia Institute will make sure the USDA uses its authority accrediting certifiers to answer these questions, and we will report back to the organic community.

Nebraska farmers to plead guilty in organic grain fraud scheme
Omaha World-Herald
by Ryan J. Foley | AP

Source: USDA

Three Nebraska farmers will plead guilty to knowingly marketing non-organic corn and soybeans as certified organic as part of a lengthy, multi-million-dollar fraud scheme, federal prosecutors revealed.

Tom Brennan, his son James Brennan and family friend Michael Potter have each agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud. Their plea hearings are scheduled for Friday in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Prosecutors allege that the three conspired with the owner of a large Iowa-based company to dupe customers nationwide who thought they were buying grains that had been grown using environmentally sustainable practices.

All three operated an organic farm in Overton, Nebraska, that was certified through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program, which requires crops to be grown without the use of fertilizers, sewage sludge and other substances. They also farmed other fields that weren't certified.

From 2010 through 2017, the trio sold non-organic grain directly to customers and to an Ossian, Iowa-based company, which is identified in court papers only as "J.S." and as being owned by an unidentified co-conspirator. They knew the grain was mostly non-organic because it came from non-certified fields or from certified fields where they applied pesticides and nitrogen in violation of USDA standards, prosecutors contend in court documents. Any organic grain was mixed with non-organic grain, rendering all of it non-organic.

Court documents indicate that the Brennans and Potter are cooperating, signaling that additional charges may be forthcoming against the owner of "J.S." Prosecutors said in court documents that the certification for the Nebraska farm was owned by "J.S." and would have been revoked had its third-party certifier known of the chemicals that were used.

Holly Logan, an attorney for James Brennan, declined to comment. USDA records show that he voluntarily surrendered an organic certification last month. Attorneys for the other two defendants didn't immediately reply to messages.

The charges were praised by the Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog group that has been critical of the USDA for being too lenient with producers who violate its standards.

Violations are typically handled through USDA enforcement action that can bring fines, revocations and bans, and federal criminal charges are rare, said the group's director, Mark Kastel.