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TWO FACE MILLION DOLLAR FINES, PRISON TIME IN CATTLE FRAUD CASE
Nov. 15, 2010
Springfield (MO) News-Leader reports:
Lonnie Littles, husband of Christian County Assessor Sandra Bryant-Littles, could face up to 130 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $3.5 million for his role in falsely reporting a cattle theft last year.
Littles, 62, of Clever, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of bank fraud and two counts of wire fraud. By pleading guilty, Littles admitted he concocted a scheme to defraud Liberty Bank and Shelter Insurance Company.
The indictment states that Littles obtained a $105,000 line of credit from Liberty Bank, using his cattle as collateral. Between January 2008 and March 3, 2009, Littles admitted, he sold the cattle being used as collateral without the knowledge or permission of Liberty Bank.
By pleading guilty, Littles also admitted that in order to conceal the sale, he asked ranch hand Jesse D. Rice to report to law enforcement that the cattle had been stolen the weekend of Feb. 8, 2009, while Littles and his wife were out of town, traveling to conduct his prison ministry.
He then filed a $66,250 fraudulent insurance claim. Just three months earlier, Littles had increased his insurance coverage on his cattle from $60,000 to $100,000.
Littles also admitted to committing wire fraud by instructing Rice to provide two on-camera interviews falsely claiming the cattle had been stolen. The interviews were broadcast on Feb. 8 and 9, 2009, on KYTV and KOLR.
Rice, 58, of Clever, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and could face up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $1 million.
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