Becker farmer gets probation, community service for $1.4M loan fraud

A Becker man was sentenced to probation and community service for loan fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 67-year-old Robert Waldon John Anderson used false statements to get five Commodity Credit Corporation loans through a federal farm program in 2017 and 2018.

As part of the terms of the loans, he pledged to maintain bushels of corn as collateral. However, when the Farm Service Agency conducted a spot check in late 2018, the agency found the bins of corn Anderson had pledged for collateral were almost empty. Authorities say Anderson used a family member’s name to sell the corn without being detected.

The FSA also learned that Anderson orchestrated two fraudulent loans in the names of family members.

In total, the attorney’s office says Anderson defrauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture of $1,425,718.36.

He was ordered to pay most of that in restitution in addition to serving three years of probation and 150 hours of community service.