Columbus Man Convicted of Mail Fraud and Making False Statements

United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Jerald Schreiber, 66, of Columbus, Nebraska, was found guilty today following a four-day jury trial in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for mail fraud and two counts of making false statements to a government entity. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. scheduled Schreiber’s sentencing for August 4, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.

The case arose out of fraudulent applications Schreiber made to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of the Farm Service Agency’s 2018 market facilitation program. The evidence at trial showed that Schreiber falsified on two applications the number of hogs he had at his farms. On an application for one of his farms, he stated that he had 9,079 hogs.  This application resulted in the USDA mailing Schreiber approximately $72,631.  On an application for a different farm, he stated he had 8,194 hogs.  This resulted in the USDA mailing Schreiber approximately $65,682.  Both of these farms had substantially fewer hogs than Schreiber claimed.  By inflating the number of hogs, Schreiber received more money than he was entitled.  Once he received the inflated payments, he deposited them into checking accounts.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.