A Ravenna man has been sentenced to five years probation and 10 weekends of intermittent confinement on a federal charge of lying to a bank about his sheep herd.
Brooks Duester, 44, was given the sentence Monday in U.S. District Court. He was also ordered to pay $569,332.80 in restitution to Ashton State Bank.
In April, Duester pleaded guilty to one count of fraud. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss five additional counts of bank fraud.
A federal indictment says Duester obtained lines of credit, promissory notes, loans and funding from Ashton State Bank for the purpose of purchasing livestock.
As part of the scheme, the affidavit says, Duester prevented inspectors from Ashton State Bank and the Farm Services Agency from accessing his pasture to verify the number of sheep, lambs and ewes that were located on his property. It says he falsely claimed in June 2017 that his operation had nearly 5,000 sheep.
Court records say that in March 2018, Duester allegedly sold 187 sheep and deposited checks at a bank other than Ashton State Bank to conceal the transaction from Ashton State Bank.
The affidavit says that in September 2018, Duester sold wool, sheep and lambs for $7,408.23 and concealed also the profits from the bank.