Home Kansas City Press Releases 2009 Kansas Man Pleads Guilty in Cattle Fraud Case
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Kansas Man Pleads Guilty in Cattle Fraud Case

U.S. Attorney’s Office October 13, 2009
  • District of Kansas (316) 269-6481

TOPEKA, KS—Dennis Stebbins, 58, Overbrook, Kan., has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.

In his plea, Stebbins admitted he conspired with co-defendant Jay Aaron Wagner to defraud the owners of  J Bar Ranch LLC in Jefferson County, Kan. Beginning in 2003, the owners of the J Bar Ranch made an agreement with Stebbins for him to purchase cattle for the J Bar Ranch. The owners required that the cattle come from a single location and that they be examined by a veterinarian to assure none of the cattle were pregnant. The ranchers reimbursed Stebbins for the cost of purchasing the cattle plus a fee of $2 to $3 per head.

Stebbins admitted conspiring with Wagner to:

  • Fraudulently increase the actual average weight and actual average cost of the cattle purchased for the J Bar Ranch.
  • Fraudulently create documentation that the cattle had been examined by a veterinarian.
  • Fraudulently  convince the owners of the ranch that the cattle were purchased at a single location.

Stebbins will be sentenced at a later time. Wagner is set for sentencing Nov. 20, 2009.

Stebbins faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million on the conspiracy charge. Welch commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Hathaway for their work on the case.

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