A Chillicothe, MO, man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to his role in a $142 million scheme to sell non-organic grain as though it was organic, reports News-Press Now.
Steven N. Whiteside, 57, pleaded guilty to a federal information that charges him with falsely signing documents related to the fraud scheme.
Randy Constant, also of Chillicothe, the leader of the fraud scheme, was sentenced on Aug. 16, 2019, to 10 years and two months in federal prison without parole.
By pleading guilty, Whiteside admitted that he signed a document on May 30, 2015, falsely claiming that he owned or farmed certain parcels of land when he actually had no affiliation or control of the property. Whiteside falsely attested in a Land Use History Verification that no chemicals had been used on the property in the preceding three years.
