A Texas man has received a prison sentence for his involvement in a cattle theft ring that defrauded North Carolina livestock markets. Clint Clifford Sicking, 41, from Muenster, Texas, was handed down a 27-month sentence for conspiring to defraud livestock markets by writing bad checks for over 750 head of cattle, as announced by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina. Sicking, who is awaiting designation to a federal facility, has also been ordered to pay $406,707 in restitution to the victimized sales barns, according to a statement obtained by the Justice Department.
Running from April 2018 to October 2022, the operation saw Sicking and his co-conspirator William Dalton Edwards deceive sales barns by purchasing cattle with checks they knew would bounce. According to court documents, these transactions were designed so that the cattle could be transported and resold out of state, in Texas and Oklahoma, before sellers realized their funds were not forthcoming. Though Edwards has already been sentenced to 24 months, it is the victimized family-owned sales barns, which suffered losses exceeding $400,000 because they are mandated to pay their farmers immediately after livestock sales, having to cope with the fallout of the scheme pursued by Sicking and Edwards.
In the course of the fraudulent activity, several agencies including the USDA-OIG, Secret Service, IRS-CI, and local sheriff offices joined forces to investigate and unravel the deceitful operations. Sicking's guilty plea encompassed charges of conspiring to defraud the United States and to undermine the laws of the country, particularly those enforced by the Packers and Stockyard Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture which is tasked with regulating fair livestock markets.
Responding to the eventual arrest and sentencing, law enforcement officials have expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the case. "Today’s sentencing sends a strong message that theft of livestock is a serious crime that has real consequences," said Miles B. Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the USDA-OIG, in a statement obtained by the Justice Department. Sicking, who remains released on bond is slated to serve an additional two years under court supervision after completing his prison term, the system working to ensure that justice, although delayed, was not denied for those farmers and ranchers who place their trust in the integrity of the market.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson, commended the collaboration between the different agencies which led to the successful prosecution of the case. The work of the investigating agencies alongside the support from the Stanly County District Attorney's Office was critical in bringing Sicking to justice. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, according to the Justice Department, prosecuted the case.
