Alison J. Ramsdell U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota
A federal judge has ordered James and Levi Garrett, operators of a family farm in Sully County, South Dakota, to pay over $4 million following findings that they committed crop insurance fraud in 2018 and 2019. The judgment was announced by U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell after Chief U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange entered the decision.
The civil penalty follows criminal convictions for the same conduct in 2022. According to court documents, the Garretts falsely claimed to have planted 2,200 acres of sunflowers in 2018 and received indemnity payments as if their crops had failed, though no sunflowers were actually planted. In 2019, James Garrett also falsely reported planting corn and collected additional indemnity funds.
In total, the fraudulent activity resulted in more than $1.3 million in benefits obtained from federal crop insurance programs.
“Protecting taxpayer-funded programs from fraud and abuse remains a top priority for our office,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell, “and we won’t stop at criminal convictions. As this case demonstrates, those who attempt to cheat federal programs face serious consequences—both criminal and civil.”
The False Claims Act allows authorities to pursue both treble damages and civil penalties when individuals or companies submit false claims to federal programs.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General and its Risk Management Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis A. Warner prosecuted the case.
