Grand Jury Indicts Former Owner of Valley Dairy with Fraud Related to $643,000 in USDA Grant Funds

ANCHORAGE—Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis announced today that a Wasilla man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage for wire fraud and false statements to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in connection with the construction and management of Valley Dairy, doing business as Matanuska Creamery, in Alaska.

The six-count indictment named Kyle E. Beus, 48, of Wasilla, Alaska, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the grand jury, Kyle E. Beus, previous Valley Dairy owner, executed a scheme beginning December 2007 and continuing through March 2008 to obtain money from the USDA by means of material false statements and representations while drawing down the proceeds of two federal grants totaling $643,000 awarded by the USDA to support a milk, ice cream, and cheese manufacturing facility in Alaska.

Beus submitted or caused to be submitted certified requests for reimbursement to the USDA with false and fraudulent supporting documents, knowing the requests were not accurate and not in accordance with the grant conditions. Beus is charged with four counts of false statements to the USDA for submitting those false documents, which involved a state of Washington company and two Palmer, Alaska companies. Beus is also charged with three counts of wire fraud for submitting false invoices to the Washington company in order to receive a return of grant monies totaling $121,040.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta Randall, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million dollars, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General-Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.