Leland E. Blue

Debarment was proposed because an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed that between 2018 and 2021, LYNCH LIVESTOCK, INC. managers and employees directed and participated in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate scales, re-classify hogs, and falsify records to pay livestock producers less than fair market value for their hogs. The OIG investigation uncovered a pattern of fraudulent practices by LYNCH LIVESTOCK, INC.: Scale Manipulation: LYNCH LIVESTOCK, INC.’s employees manipulated hog scales at the buying stations at the direction of their managers. The employees used a crowbar to decrease the weight of the hogs on the scale so that the producers would be paid less. Falsified Records: LYNCH LIVESTOCK, INC.’s managers created fraudulent scale tickets and sort sheets to conceal their scheme. The original sort sheets and scale tickets, which contained the actual weights and classifications of the hogs, were routinely destroyed. Hog Classification: LYNCH LIVESTOCK, INC.’s employees, acting on instructions from managers, intentionally downgraded hog classifications. They would classify hogs as being of a lower quality than they were, which allowed LYNCH LIVESTOCK, INC. to pay the producers less for their hogs. TYLER THOMS stated that he and another employee were responsible for shredding the original sort sheets at the direction of their managers. For further information contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agency Exclusions POC.