A recent indictment by a federal grand jury in Charlotte has charged Clint Clifford Sicking, 40, of Muenster, Texas, with engaging in a complex cattle theft scheme that defrauded livestock markets out of $780,000. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina. The scheme, which spanned several states including North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia, involved purchasing cattle with bad checks and then immediately moving them across state lines to be resold before the fraud was detected.
From April 2018 to October 2022, Sicking and William Dalton Edwards, 25, of Mount Airy, N.C., conspired to acquire over 900 cattle using worthless checks. This caused financial damage to sales barns, which had to pay farmers and ranchers immediately despite receiving checks that would bounce. Edwards has pleaded guilty, and his sentencing date is pending, according to a U.S. Attorney.
The charges against Sicking include bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, theft and transportation of stolen livestock, and are serious with the conspiracy charge alone carrying a maximum prison term of five years. The bank fraud charge could result in up to 30 years of imprisonment. It is alleged that Sicking's actions were part of an effort to disrupt the fair livestock market regulations enforced by the Packers and Stockyard Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In her announcement, U.S. Attorney King acknowledged the collaborative investigation efforts of the USDA-OIG, the U.S. Secret Service, IRS-CI, and law enforcement officials from Cleveland and Iredell County Sheriff’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage is prosecuting the case, which sends a strong message about the consequences of engaging in such fraudulent activities. Sicking currently faces these allegations and, according to the law, must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
