Kentucky tobacco farmer charged with crop insurance fraud
A federal grand jury has returned a five-count indictment against 49-year-old Keith A. Foley.
A Kentucky tobacco farmer has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with engaging in crop insurance fraud.
The grand jury, sitting in Lexington, returned a five-count indictment charging 49-year-old Keith A. Foley with four counts of making false statements to influence the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and companies the FCIC reinsures, and one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud in the course of defrauding private insurance companies.
Hid tobacco production
The indictment alleged that as early as crop year 2010, Foley, a tobacco producer in Bourbon and Jessamine Counties, hid his tobacco production from insurance companies to claim damage to his crop sufficient to trigger crop insurance indemnity payments or generate larger indemnity payments, which are funded by the federal government through the FCIC.
Related: Crop insurance agent sentenced to 60 months for fraud
The indictment also charged Foley with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, for the purpose of profiting through the filing of false and fictitious insurance claims. The wire fraud conspiracy count alleged that Foley submitted tobacco test sheets to his private insurance companies that were supposed to accurately reflect the amount of damage to his tobacco crop. Instead, according to the indictment, Foley, with the help of others, submitted tobacco test sheets that were slightly altered duplicates of those submitted for other producers or that he had already submitted.
Additionally, the indictment charged that Foley’s private crop insurance policy claim for crop year 2015 included a duplicated photograph submitted on another producer’s insurance claim.
Up to 30 years in prison, $1 million fine for false statements
A date for Foley to appear in court has not yet been scheduled. For each charge of making false statements to the FCIC, Foley faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000. For the conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Foley faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Any sentence following a conviction, however, would be imposed by the court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.