The KCAU staff reported on a pair of Cooperative managers in Sioux City, IA, have been indited. The two are accused of lying to USDA offices about mixing oats and soybeans and trying to hide the action. Kenneth Ehrp and Calvin Diehl were the general manager and assistant general manager, respectively, at Farmer’s Cooperative Society of Sioux Center. At the time of the allegations, Oats was around $2.39, and soybeans were about $9.69. Ehrp and Diehl are being accused of using the price discrepancy to increase the perceived value of onhand assets and shipments being sent to customers, then lying to cover it up.
The two instructed employees to layer soybeans on to of bins and trucks partially filled with oats, then claiming the whole shipment or bins were pure soybeans. At times the two even supervised the layering in trucks. Diehl claimed to not know why piles of oats would appear alongside piles of soybeans at satellite facilities when questioned by a warehouse inspector. Diehal also claimed to have far fewer oats on hand then they did in reality. Ehrp caused the cooperative's controller to make false statements saying the property was "overvalued", information that was used by a lender to resolve a loan.
Ehrp was let go from the co-op on April 28, 2017. He is currently suing his former employer for $634,458.41 in back wages and to maintain his life insurance policy.
