Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Jatinderjeet "Jyoti" Sihota from Selma has been sentenced to a year in prison for her involvement in crop insurance fraud, as Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
Sihota, 40, participated in a fraudulent scheme alongside Ralph Hackett, 69, between 2012 and 2016. During this time, they secured over $650,000 in unwarranted crop insurance payments. The fraud involved altering records from their farming business, which produced table grapes and other crops, to falsely report crop losses. These records were then provided to the insurance company to support their claims of significant losses.
Investigations revealed that the fraudulent plan originated with Sihota, who contacted Hackett to manipulate records and sought secrecy. She approached other brokers to alter records, but they declined to participate.
The case emerged from a probe conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General and Risk Management Agency's Special Investigations Staff. Prosecution of the case was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton.
As for Hackett, he has confessed to his involvement in the fraud. His sentencing is set for May 27, 2025, where he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The final sentence will consider statutory guidelines and various factors as determined by the court.
