DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton reported late last week that, “Roughly 150 farmers attended a meeting Tuesday night in Ashby, Minnesota, looking for answers about the closed Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator and its former manager, who allegedly stole at least $2 million from the elevator before disappearing earlier this month.
“An audit of the grain cooperative’s books is continuing to detail actual losses, and investigators are looking into the alleged fraud by former elevator manager Jerry Hennessey. He had managed the elevator since 1989, but has not been seen in Ashby since it became clear the elevator was missing funds.
“Erik Ahlgren, an attorney hired to sort through the losses and find a possible buyer for the 307,000-bushel-capacity grain elevator, said roughly half the people in the crowd raised their hands when he asked how many farmers were still owed money from the cooperative.”
Mr. Clayton noted that, “Minnesota requires bonding, but the bond for the cooperative is valued at $125,000. Farmers can file claims with the state, but officials won’t know the exact total of claims filed and possible payout per farmer until at least six months from now. The pool of claims is determined, then divided pro rata among all of those who file, Ahlgren said.
“Insurance on the elevator for crimes is $100,000 per loss. That raises questions of how single losses are defined and whether that will cover a larger amount. In a statement to farmers announcing the closure, Ahlgren stated the co-op board did not expect to have funds to pay the co-op’s outstanding obligations.
“Beyond what is owed to farmers, the Ashby Farmers Cooperative also owes $8 million to the Farm Credit lender CoBank.”
The DTN article added, “The cooperative has about 300 members who are defined as having at least $500 in transactions with the elevator over the last year.”
