A farmer’s co-operative, Compeer Financial, has included Sunterra Farms of Alberta in a lawsuit alleging cheque kiting.
The lawsuit is against three hog farms in Yankton County, South Dakota—Sunwold Farms, Sunterra Farms, and Lariagra Farms—alleging involvement in a cheque kiting scheme resulting in significant financial losses.
The lawsuit, filed in the South Dakota District Court, seeks the appointment of a receiver to manage approximately 110,000 hogs and to recover damages totaling $36 million.
According to the complaint, the defendants pledged their pig inventory as colla
Cheque kiting involves creating artificial balances by continuously writing cheques between accounts at different banks without sufficient funds, exploiting the time it takes for cheques to clear.
The entities involved are connected to the Sunterra Group, a multi-state and international swine operation led by the Price family based in Alberta.
Sunterra Group manages approximately 500,000 pig spaces across various entities, including Sunwold and Lariagra.
Specifically, Sunwold Farms, a South Dakota corporation, finishes over 62,000 pigs, while Lariagra Farms, also based in South Dakota, finishes approximately 48,725 pigs.
