Rushmore State News

A federal court has ordered Sully County farmers James and Levi Garrett to pay more than $4 million in a civil judgment for crop insurance fraud. The order was issued by Chief U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange, following the pair's 2022 criminal convictions for related offenses.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Garretts operated a family farm and ranch in Sully County. In 2018, they falsely reported planting 2,200 acres of sunflowers to a crop insurance company and claimed compensation as if their entire crop had failed, despite not planting any sunflowers that year. In 2019, James Garrett also falsely certified he planted 47.5 acres of corn as part of another claim, again receiving indemnity without actually planting the crop. The fraudulent claims resulted in the defendants obtaining over $1.3 million in benefits.

The False Claims Act permits the government to pursue triple damages and civil penalties against those who knowingly submit false claims for payment from federal programs.

“Protecting taxpayer-funded programs from fraud and abuse remains a top priority for our office,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell, “and we won’t stop at criminal convictions. As this case demonstrates, those who attempt to cheat federal programs face serious consequences—both criminal and civil.”

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General and Risk Management Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis A. Warner prosecuted the case.