A federal jury convicted brothers Joshua and Jason Link of running Agridime, a $240 million cattle scheme that sold buyers cattle the company did not have and used new buyers’ money to pay old ones.
Story Highlights
- A federal jury in Fort Worth found Joshua and Jason Link guilty of fraud and money laundering after a six-day trial.
- Prosecutors say Agridime took in more than $240 million from over 2,200 people across the country from 2021 to 2023.
- Buyers paid $2,000 for a steer or heifer, but the money went to company costs, loans and payouts to earlier buyers.
- Prosecutors say the company sold about 60,000 more head of cattle than it had in its herd.
- Sentencing is set for Thursday, March 4, 2027, and each fraud count carries up to 20 years in prison.
- Prosecutors say the brothers spent buyers’ money on things like a $1,498,275 “barndominium,” a barn-style building made into a home, in Herington, Kansas.
Jury Verdict Details and Charges
On Tuesday, November 10, a federal jury in Fort Worth, Texas, convicted the brothers after a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman. Prosecutors said Agridime, a Fort Worth cattle and beef company, worked as a Ponzi scheme, a fraud that pays earlier investors with money from new investors instead of from real profits. Joshua Link, of Strafford, Missouri, was Agridime’s co-owner and executive director. Jason Link, of Herington, Kansas, owned a business called Shady Brook Ranch and worked as an Agridime livestock broker.
Jury Convicts Brothers in $240 Million Cattle Ponzi Scheme
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Jurors found Joshua Link guilty of two counts each of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. Wire fraud is cheating people using phone, email or electronic money transfers, and money laundering is moving money from a crime to spend it or hide where it came from. Jurors found Jason Link guilty of one count of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. “These defendants preyed directly on Main Street Americans who believed they were investing in cattle contracts,” said Ryan Raybould, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
How the Scheme Worked and What Investigators Found
Agridime sold cattle contracts to the public. For $2,000, a buyer could buy one steer or heifer that the company promised to raise, process and sell as meat for a profit. Prosecutors say the money did not go to those cattle. It paid the company’s bills, its loans and the “returns” owed to earlier buyers. Prosecutors also say the company overstated its herd to get loans, and from January 2021 to December 2023 sold about 60,000 more head of cattle than it had.
The trial also showed money flowing to the family. Prosecutors say Jason Link’s ranch business was paid more than $2.7 million for feed and care it never provided, since another company had already been paid for that feed. Joshua Link and Tia Link received more than $2.7 million in pay and commissions in 2022 and 2023. Prosecutors say the brothers spent the money on things like a $1,498,275 “barndominium,” a barn-style building made into a home, in Herington, Kansas, and a $24,838 Hummer H2.
Why This Case Matters to Investors and Ranch Country
Cattle are hard for a buyer far from the ranch to check on. That gap let a fixed-return pitch hide a simple shuffle of money from new buyers to old ones. Before putting money into livestock or any asset you cannot see, it helps to check that the seller is licensed, ask who holds the animals, and ask for records from someone other than the seller.
Four other Agridime workers pleaded guilty before the trial. Jed Wood, the operations director, and two others pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, and Tia Link, the marketing director, pleaded guilty to money laundering. The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General, the agency’s internal watchdog. R. Joseph Rothrock, the FBI agent in charge in Dallas, said the convictions reflect the brothers’ “calculated efforts to lure prospective investors.”
What Comes Next in Court
The brothers are set to be sentenced on Thursday, March 4, 2027. Each conspiracy and wire fraud count carries up to 20 years in federal prison, and each money laundering count carries up to 10 years. The judge can also order them to repay victims, which is called restitution, and to pay other money penalties. Judge Pittman will decide the final terms.
Sources:
townhall.com, justice.gov, wfaa.com, fox5ny.com, star-telegram.com, sacbee.com
