WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
A judge has rejected a sentencing deal that carried a five-year cap for fraud committed by a farmer in southwestern Michigan. Judge Paul Maloney says it doesn’t reflect the “seriousness” of the crime. Mike Stamp had pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a scheme to defraud a government crop insurance program and lenders in Van Buren County. MLive.com reports that Stamp has withdrawn his guilty plea, and a fall trial has been scheduled in Kalamazoo federal court. Stamp’s wife, Melissa Stamp, pleaded guilty to knowing about the fraud but not reporting it. (AP)
Check Also
City commissioner arrested, not charged
Three Rivers City Commission member Lucas Allen was arrested last weekend on a charge of …
Americans have to realize that “small farmers” rarely exist in America. Farms have been co-opted into agra-businesses, owned by giant and often multi-national corporations. Which means a lot of half-truths, asset inflation, money-shifting, loan-sharking, monopolies, etc. or as we were once taught to call it “outright lies”.
Boersen Farms, Zeeland, MI acquired the assets of the former Stamp Farms LLC out of bankruptcy at auction for $22.8 million in 2013, doubling the amount of land it farmed and leased across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
They in turn are being sued by Helena Agri-Enterprises, a Collierville, Tenn., company that describes itself as an “agronomic solutions provider.” Helena Agri-Enterprises’s annual revenues are over $500 million.
About 70% of Helena’s revenue was from crop protection chemicals, and new biotechnologies – aka a chemical company.
And what a surprise, lawsuits and counter-lawsuits are standard practice between the warring chemical companies and the multi-national companies that own them. Bayer, a German pharmaceutical company, bought Monsanto for $66 billion. Dupont (Pioneer’s parent company) is worth $130 billion.