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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says it has dismantled a massive $191 million ponzi scheme centered on sham cattle investment contracts.
The SEC says it has secured final judgments against Agridime LLC and its founders, Jed Wood and Joshua Link, in a federal district court in Texas.
The regulator says Wood and Link raised huge sums of cash through selling contracts promising 15% to 32% returns through cattle buybacks.
But they failed to purchase sufficient cattle, diverting tens of millions to ponzi payments and undisclosed commissions, including $1.3 million to Wood and $1.3 million to Link and his wife.
The court issued a temporary restraining order and asset freeze on December 11, 2023, appointing a receiver.
The final judgments bar the defendants from violating securities laws, ban Wood and Link from securities activities or serving as officers, and order significant financial penalties.
The judgments require Wood to pay roughly $2.6 million in disgorgement, interest and penalties; Link about $6.9 million; and Agridime over $120 million, which will be satisfied through the receiver’s collections.
