Warrant issued for Watertown farmer who admitted to bank fraud, skipped sentencing hearing

A Watertown farmer, who admitted to bank fraud, has had a bench warrant issued for his arrest.

Richard "Butch" Carpenter pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year and was scheduled to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Aberdeen on Monday.

According to court documents filed after the sentencing hearing, Carpenter did not show and U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Carpenter faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine; five years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. According to the plea agreement, he will also owe $8.3 million in restitution to two different banks.

Carpenter's attorney Tom Sannes said by phone Thursday that Carpenter, who has cooperated with law enforcement throughout this process, has paid a significant amount of restitution. Land, cattle and machinery have been liquidated to go toward restitution, he said.

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According to court documents filed in the case, Carpenter admitted to a scheme where he presented false information to a bank to obtain financing. 

Carpenter, who began custom feeding cattle in the 1980s, changed his rural Watertown operation in 2008 to one where he was raising and feeding his own cattle. 

Court documents state Carpenter provided false information to the bank about his income and assets in order to secure financing and a line of credit. Carpenter inflated his cattle sales and the number of cattle he had on hand, the documents state. He also falsified tax returns, which he provided to the bank. He also kited checks between two separate bank accounts in 2020.

Check kiting is intentionally passing bad checks between two bank accounts.