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Businessman faces prison time in grain fraud

A prominent northwest Missouri businessman and former school board member faces a potential lengthy prison sentence for a $142 million grain fraud scheme.

Federal prosecutors in Iowa say 61-year-old Randy Constant pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison. Constant, a former school board member in Chillicothe, Missouri, admitted falsely selling grain as certified organic from fields in Nebraska and Missouri through his Iowa-based brokerage, Jericho Solutions.

The investigation by the USDA and FBI found the so-called “certified organic” fields were sprayed with unauthorized substances or organic grain was mixed with non-organic. 

Sentencing is on August 16.

Missourinet News Director Brian Hauswirth contributed to this article.