A Princeton man and an Elkton man both pled guilty in federal court Wednesday to stealing over $350,000 from a Lyon County grain elevator company.
U.S. Attorney Michael Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky announced Thursday that 72-year old Bobby Joe Merrick, of Princeton, and 61-year old Gerald Kent Kingston, of Elkton, both pled guilty as part of a plea agreement to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five counts of wire fraud.
According to court documents, Kingston was formerly employed as a manager at Gavilon Grain which operates a grain elevator in Eddyville. Merrick is a local farmer who contracted with Gavilon Grain to sell his corn, wheat, and soybeans at the grain elevator. Between September 19, 2016 and May 5, 2021, Kingston and Merrick devised a scheme to defraud the grain elevator by creating multiple-scale tickets for each truckload of crop that Merrick delivered. Kingston then electronically submitted the scale tickets to Gavilon Grain’s headquarters in Nebraska for payment. The scheme caused Merrick to be paid twice for each truckload of crop he delivered.
During court proceedings, Bennett says Kingston and Merrick admitted that Merrick was paid $354,870.11 for phantom loads of product. After receiving payment from Gavilon Grain, Bennett says Merrick would make a cash payment to Kingston.
As part of the plea agreement, Bennett says the two men will be required to pay $354,870.11 in restitution to Gavilon Grain. Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on August 24 by U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, who will determine any sentence each receives after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond McGee.
