A jury in Fort Worth has indicted five suspects – including one of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” – for a $220 million cattle fraud conspiracy.
A federal grand jury indicted suspects on February 11 for their roles in a national scheme involving cattle purchase contracts, according to a Department of Justice press release. Defendants include Jed Wood of Fort Worth, Royona Thomas of Arlington, Taylor Bang of Killdeer, North Dakota, Tia Link of Smithton, Missouri, and Joshua Link of Strafford, Missouri.
“Thousands of unwitting investors, ranchers, and others in the cattle industry nationwide were drawn in and victimized by the defendants’ multi-million dollar scheme,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould in the release.
Wood was charged with three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering – wiring more than $63,000 to a lender for a supposed home payoff.
Thomas was charged with six counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering.
Bang was charged with eight counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering.
Tia Link was charged with three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering – wiring more than $527,000 for a property purchase.
Joshua Link was charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and 2 counts of money laundering related to the property purchase. He remains a fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Joshua Link
Anyone with information on Link’s whereabouts can submit tips through 1-800-CALL-FBI, tips.fbi.gov, the local FBI office, or the nearest American embassy or consulate. A federal arrest warrant was issued from the Northern District of Texas on January 29.
Bang and Tia Link faced arraignment before a federal judge in Fort Worth on February 12, and they were released on pretrial supervision, according to the release. Wood and Thomas are set for arraignment on February 25.
If convicted, the defendants could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud charge and for each wire fraud conspiracy charge. For each money laundering charge, they could face up to 10 years in prison.
A Cattle Conspiracy
The defendants worked with Agridime LLC, a business headquartered in Fort Worth offering cattle sales, meat processing, and retail services, according to the release. Joshua Link was executive director, Tia Link was marketing director, Wood was operations director, Bank was a cattle broker, and Thomas was the financial controller.
The accused reportedly committed fraud from January 2021 to December 2023. They allegedly claimed to cattle purchasers, ranchers, and feedlots that Agridime would use their money to purchase a single cow, raise it, and sell the meat for profit.
Instead, they allegedly used the money of newer purchasers to cover Agridime’s operating expenses and debts, personal expenses, and to purchase property.
In December 2023, North Dakota Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler ordered Bang to “cease and desist” from acting as an unregistered securities agent for his role with Agridime, in what officials then called a “$190 million Ponzi scheme.” She also ordered Joshua Link to cease and desist from selling unregistered securities.
The same month, the Arizona Corporation Commission sued Agridime for “issuing false statements and omitting material information” to investors. Just days later, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in the Northern District of Texas, claiming the company diverted millions in investor funding for “Ponzi payments.”
Defendants reportedly collected a total of more than $220 million from more than 2,200 victims across America, according to the release.
“The defendants allegedly used false promises to lure prospective clients into their scheme and then misappropriated client funds to enrich themselves,” said FBI-Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock in the release.
Rothrock also asked members of the public to contact the FBI if they have any information about Joshua Link’s whereabouts.
The FBI-Fort Worth investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McDonald is leading the prosecution.
