A 39 year-old Northeast Wisconsin farmer will spend six months in federal prison for providing false statements to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Jeffrey Lewke will also servce an additional six months of home confinement, pay a $2000 fine, and pay nearly $24,000 in restitution to the USA for falsely reporting he irrigated more than 120 acres than he actually did, attempting to fraudulently claim a $63,000 insurance claim.
Lewke admitted he submitted $246,606.53 worth of fraudulent insurance claims during the 2011 season. By doing so, he falsely claimed that he was entitled to another $70,000 of insurance for a loss in Brown County.
At Lewke’s sentencing hearing, District Judge Pamela Pepper described the federal crop insurance program at as a “safety net” for farmers in need, from which Lewke stole while he was enjoying the financial success of farming over 12,000 acres in Wisconsin during the 2011 crop season.
