A Niles-area farmer has been ordered to pay $87,500 to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act by obtaining federal crop insurance and Farm Service Agency benefit payments for crops he didn’t farm.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten made the announcement saying David G. Zelmer of Niles has agreed to make the payment to resolve the case.
“Michigan farmers depend on federal programs to provide economic security. But the wellbeing of these programs depends on farmers telling the truth and playing by the rules. My office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of false claims to these federal programs,” said Totten.
The U.S. Attorney’s office alleges that Zelmer owned and farmed land in Berrien County but entered into a lease agreement with another farmer in 2015 in which he leased certain tracts of that land to the other individual to farm. The lease agreement continued through 2017.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says despite leasing those farm tracts to the other farmer, Zelmer certified that he was the sole producer of the crops on those farm tracts when seeking benefit payments from the FSA in crop years 2015, 2016, and 2017. The office further alleges that Zelmer certified that he was the sole producer of the crops on those same farm tracts when obtaining federal crop insurance coverage from the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, when he was not.
Shantel R. Robinson, Special Agent-In-Charge, United States Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General said their office is committed to combatting crop insurance fraud through civil enforcement under the False Claims Act.
“Fraudulent activity within the crop insurance program undermines its intent and misdirects taxpayer dollars from which they were intended. We are thankful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and USDA’s Risk Management Agency for their partnership on this joint investigation, and OIG will continue its mission to investigate allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse in USDA programs.”
