Jason T. Coleman, 40, a co-founder of a Brinkley grain company that went bankrupt in 2014 while owing farmers millions of dollars, was found dead Tuesday, reports the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Coleman was found hanged in a barn south of Heber Springs, AR, by a friend of the family, Cleburne County Coroner Warren Olmstead said Thursday. Olmstead said Coleman's death is being investigated as a suicide.
Coleman and Dale C. Bartlett, 49, of Marvell, founded Turner Grain Merchandising Inc. in 2002.
The company was closed in August 2014 after inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture found no grain in bins, contrary to certifications by Turner.
Many farmers were never paid, or were paid with checks returned for insufficient funds.
Read the full report here.
