North Carolina Farmer Guilty Of $1M Worth Of Crop Fraud

A Columbus County man pleaded guilty in federal court on multiple charges related to crop insurance fraud. According to a news release, Milton Russ Barnhill, 47, pleaded guilty to nearly 20 charges including conspiracy to defraud the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and the Farm Service Agency, falsifying, and aiding and abetting others to falsify insurance claims, and mail fraud. Investigators say Barnhill produced crops, which he sold in the names of others, and he, along with others, filed claims that the crops were lost due to natural disasters.