A federal judge in Washington state has imposed a $244-million fine and sentenced Cody Allen Easterday to 11 years in federal prison for his role in defrauding Tyson Foods Inc. and another company of more than $244 million for cattle that did not exist.
Easterday pleaded guilty in March, 2021, to charges that he and his company billed Tyson and Segale Properties for the purchase, feeding and raising of 265,000 head of cattle that never existed over a four-year period.
Easterday lost an estimated $200 million in commodity futures trading on behalf of his company, Easterday Ranches Inc,
Chief District Judge Stanley A. Bastian is allowings unspecified offsets to the fine for money he has already paid. He also imposed a three-year period of supervised release after Easterday exits federal prison, said the Department of Justice.
