North Carolina Farmer Accused Of $5.6M Crop Insurance Fraud

A North Carolina man has been accused of stealing more than $5 million in federal crop insurance funds. James Scott Wiggins, 43, has been charged with making false statements to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, making material false statements to the Farm Service Agency, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Authorities said Wiggins and others conspired to defraud the government by filing phony crop insurance claims and false federal crop disaster relief claims. Wiggins and his co-conspirators allegedly structured transactions to evade reporting requirements.