A Kentucky-based cattle business has gone bust leaving its lender, Rabo AgriFinance, and investors short about $100 million US.
Brian McClain, 52, of Benton, Kentucky, committed suicide on April 18.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has issued notification to anyone who sold livestock to and has not received payment from businesses operated by McClain to promptly file Dealer Trust claims. Additionally, the three entities, McClain Farms Inc., Benton, Ky.; 7M Cattle Feeders Inc., Hereford, Texas; and McClain Feed Yard Inc., Friona, Texas, filed bankruptcy petitions with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on April 28.
McClain’s scheme allegedly dates back six years when he began seeking investors for his cattle operations, promising a 30 per cent return on investment.
As with many similar frauds, he used money from new investors to pay previous investors and the number of ghost cattle in the businesses kept growing to 88,000 in April when the Rabo AgriFinance ordered an inventory check.
That inventory check put the total at about 10,000 head.
