IOWA CITY, Iowa — An influential hog dealer sanctioned twice for defrauding pork producers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars says it has fired employees responsible for its latest violations and paid restitution to affected sellers.
Lynch Livestock, based in Waucoma, Iowa, also announced that pork industry veteran Dan Sutherland would lead the company going forward “as a further safeguard against future violations."
Lynch announced the moves in a press release posted online Wednesday, after The Associated Press reported the U.S. Department of Agriculture had taken enforcement action against the company for illegal buying practices for the second time since 2017.
The company has been ordered to stop recording false weights for hogs delivered to its buying stations, to stop altering classifications of hogs delivered, and to stop creating false scale tickets.
In a consent order signed this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also ordered Lynch Livestock to pay a civil penalty of $445,626. The USDA had ordered Lynch Livestock to cease and desist from the same improper practices in 2017 and to pay a $15,000 fine and restitution.
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