Benjamin Gutman

The following facts are offered in support of the proposed debarment of BENJAMIN GUTMAN, DANIEL GUTMAN, GUTMAN BROTHERS LTD, and DR. DONALD YORLETS (DR. YORLETS). A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigation revealed that DANIEL GUTMAN and BENJAMIN GUTMAN, with the assistance of DR. DONALD YORLETS, a USDA-accredited veterinarian at the time of the offense, conspired to carry out a scheme to defraud foreign customers and the USDA. DANIEL GUTMAN and BENJAMIN GUTMAN are twin brothers who own and operate a livestock exporting business, GUTMAN BROTHERS, LTD, d/b/a Gutman Brothers Dairy Cattle. BENJAMIN GUTMAN and DANIEL GUTMAN, along with DR. YORLETS, conspired to submit non-authentic bovine blood samples for the detection of disease to a USDA-accredited testing laboratory in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to obtain false and fraudulent Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVIs). From 2016 to 2020, over 3,400 cattle were exported internationally using these false CVIs. DR. YORLETS was accredited to issue CVIs through the National United States Department of Agriculture Marketing and Regulatory Programs Washington, DC 20250 Veterinary Accreditation Program, administered by the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) program; his accreditation was revoked by APHIS VS in September 2020 when he was criminally convicted in this matter. BENJAMIN GUTMAN and DANIEL GUTMAN were each convicted of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment, 2 years’ supervised release, and $250,000.00 fines, and jointly ordered to forfeit $1,438,646.42. On June 2, 2023, DR. YORLETS was convicted of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States in connection with the scheme, sentenced to 24 months’ probation, and ordered to pay a $50,000.00 fine and restitution of $38,057.00 to the USDA. For further information contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agency Exclusions POC.