A recent news release from the Department of Justice stated that, “A Monroe County, Kentucky tobacco farmer was sentenced by United States District Judge Greg N. Stivers, to serve eight months in prison followed by a three year term of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $711,958.00 for committing crop insurance fraud, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
“Tracy E. Dillard, 45, of Fountain Run, Kentucky, aided and abetted by others, previously admitted in court of knowingly making false statements and reports on insurance claims submitted to Producers Agriculture Insurance Company, a company insured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC).”
The news item noted that, “Specifically, in 2009 Dillard had four separate crop insurance policies on four different crops, two in Barren County, and two in Monroe County. Aided and abetted by others, Dillard intentionally overstated crop damage for each crop by forty percent (40%) on a crop insurance claim form, resulting in a loss of $125,339.20.
“Additionally, in 2010 Dillard had twelve separate tobacco crop insurance policies on twelve different crops. Dillard, aided and abetted by others, intentionally overstated crop damage by forty percent (40%) for each crop on a crop insurance claim form, resulting in a loss of $504,454.80.
“Finally, in 2011 Dillard had a crop insurance policy on a crop located in Allen County. Aided and abetted by others, Dillard intentionally falsified the crop plant date on a crop insurance claim form, resulting in a loss of $82,164.”
More broadly on the crop insurance issue, last week, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified  before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, and noted that, “The 2014 Farm Bill included several reforms to the Federal crop insurance program; however, there remain further opportunities for improvements and efficiencies. The President’s 2017 budget includes two proposals to reform crop insurance, which are expected to save $18 billion over 10 years. This includes reducing subsidies for revenue insurance that insure the price at the time of harvest by 10 percentage points and reforming prevented planting coverage. These reforms will make the program less costly to the taxpayer while still maintaining a quality safety net for farmers.”
