2 months ago
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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Fresno County farmeress who stole implicit fractional a cardinal dollars was sentenced Monday for harvest security fraud, the Department of Justice said.
According to tribunal documents, 40-year-old Jatinderjeet “Jyoti” Sihota of Selma was sentenced Monday to 1 twelvemonth successful situation for conspiring to perpetrate harvest security fraud.
Attorneys authorities Sihota's family’s farming cognition grew array grapes and different crops successful Fresno and Tulare counties, galore of which were sold done a effect packing institution wherever 69-year-old Ralph Hackett of Clovis was a manager.
Between 2012 and 2016, the DOJ says Sihota and Hackett carried retired a fraud strategy to marque it look arsenic though the cognition had suffered important harvest losses.
Throughout those 4 years, the DOJ says they obtained much than $650,000 successful harvest security payments to which they were not entitled by altering records that underreported the magnitude of crops sold done the effect packing institution to the security company.
According to the DOJ, the strategy was Sihota’s idea, and she pleaded with Hackett to marque the alterations, instructed him connected the circumstantial changes that needed to beryllium made, and asked him to support everything a secret. She besides emailed different effect brokers asking them to change records for her, but they refused to bash so.
Sihota pleaded blameworthy Nov. 4. At the clip of her conviction, she faced a maximum statutory punishment of 20 years successful national situation and a good of up to $250,000.
DOJ says Hackett was charged separately and has besides pleaded guilty. He is scheduled to beryllium sentenced connected May 27 and faces a maximum statutory punishment of 20 years successful national situation and a $250,000 fine.
