Five who worked at Texas cattle company indicted, accused of $220 million nationwide fraud scheme

A Dallas-area federal jury indicted five people this week accused of defrauding customers of their cattle company of $220 million.

The defendants operated through the company Agridime LLC, the Justice Department said Thursday.

Defendants Jed Wood and Royana Thomas, both from the Dallas area, worked as operations director and financial controller, respectively. Missouri couple Joshua and Tia Link worked as executive director and marketing director, respectively, and North Dakota resident Taylor Bang worked as a cattle broker.

Federal prosecutors allege that between January 2021 and December 2023, the five told clients, including feedlots, cattle ranchers and people wanting to buy individual cattle, that Agridime would use the money the clients paid to buy and raise specific cattle before selling the meat at a profit.

Customers were told they would get returns of between 15% and 32% on their initial purchases, according to the FBI.

The Justice Department accused the group of instead using incoming payments from customers to pay off company operating expenses, pay money owed to previous customers, pay personal expenses and buy real property.

The complaint made against the defendants alleges that at least $58 million of new funds were used to pay back prior investors, while more than $11 million was used for commission payments to Mr. Wood, Mr. Link, Ms. Link and others that were not disclosed, according to the Agridime website.

Over the course of the alleged conspiracy, more than 2,200 individual victims were defrauded of over $220 million, prosecutors said. For its part, Agridime is now under receivership according to its website.

Mr. Link is not yet in custody and is on the FBI’s wanted list. He is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of money laundering.

Ms. Link is charged with three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering. The money laundering charges against the Links involve alleged wiring of over $527,000 to purchase real property, prosecutors said. 

Mr. Wood is charged with three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering involving an alleged wire transfer of $63,000 to a lender for a “home payoff,” prosecutors said.

Mr. Bang is charged with eight counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and Ms. Thomas is charged with six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison on each count of wire fraud, up to 20 years for wire fraud conspiracy and up to 10 years in prison on each count of money laundering.

Ms. Link and Mr. Bang were arraigned in federal court Thursday, while Mr. Wood and Ms. Thomas are due for arraignment on Feb. 25.