quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I know for absolute fact that several exhibitors were served with lawsuits related to this matter at the SCI convention last week.

Would be interesting to see if the outfitters cashed checks and received wires from the entities (grain elevator) and not the individual.

That should have set of a warning signal.

Mike

Mike:

That is exactly what happened. While this might be a warning sign to you or I, I imagine an outfitter or taxidermist doesn't have the slightest idea what it means. I really doubt that Cabela's did anything but process the check.

I really question what will be accomplished by suing an outfitter from another country with no assets in the US.

https://www.agweek.com/busines...t-against-hennesseys



Co-op to ask for default judgment against Hennesseys

By Mikkel Pates / Agweek Staff Writer Today at 5:30 a.m.


ELBOW LAKE, Minn.—In a Jan. 14 hearing, Ashby Farmers Co-op Elevator will ask Grant County District Judge Amy Doll for a default judgment against its former manager Jerry Hennessey and Hennessey's estranged wife Rebecca.

The motion was filed Dec. 31 by Erik Ahlgren and Dorothy Bradley, an associate in another Fergus Falls, Minn., law firm.

Hennessey went on the lam on Sept. 10. After a federal IRS investigation, he was charged with mail fraud and turned himself in Dec. 4. Hennessey's attorney, Thomas Kelly, of Kelly and Jacobson law firm in Minneapolis, did not return a phone message from Agweek requesting an interview.



The co-op alleges Hennessey and his wife deprived the co-op of $5,446,329.27 in assets. The couple was "unjustly enriched" with unauthorized transactions going back to 2003. Hennessey first coded checks written to himself as for "feed purchases," but he "never sold feed" to the co-op, Ahlgren said.

Ahlgren believes Hennessey wrote $1.12 million in checks "directly to himself" from the co-op from 2003 to 2018. He wrote other checks for miscellaneous purposes not related to co-op business. He would write the checks "throughout the year" but hold them for entering into the accounting system at the "end of December in any given year."

Nearly $1.4 million of the funds were for "personal hunting and recreational expenses." For the first time, the co-op listed the amounts for vendors. The following are the largest:

• $312,150 to Jay Link of Link's Wild Safaris.

• $277,875 to Dickey Mueller and Mabula Game Lodge in South Africa.

• $177,500 to Chris Bilkey, in New Zealand.

• $89,400 to Sanora Darkhorn Safaris.

• $88,000 to Apple Creek Whitetails, Gillett, Wis.

• $74,500 to Joe Jakab and Point-Blank Hunts, Pittsburgh.

• $65,875 to Mulehead Ranch, South Dakota.

• $46,330 to Stone Mountain Safaris.

• $41,995 to Sam Fejes in Alaska.

• $35,000 to Atoscosa in Texas.

• $26,200 to MVF.

• $18,500 to Vladimir Melnikov, Profi-hunt.

• $16,500 to John Greef.

• $15,309 to Western Bad Boy Buggies.

• $12,500 to Chad Reel in Alaska.

• $10,000 to Juan Toquero.

Full-service bar

According to the court documents, Hennessey paid at least $1.19 million to his personal credit card bills, including $219,414 in construction expenses for his personal properties, including his rural Dalton, Minn., home.

The report details the amounts, including $103,877 to Kamrath Construction, $21,780 to Plumbers Inc., $89,400 to Matt Skjeret, and $4,357 to Culinex, "all of which were falsely coded as purchases of soybeans, wheat or corn." The checks were on the account of "Ashby Farmers Elevator Co," but the recipient would not have seen any notation for the purpose.

The unauthorized projects appear to have included an "addition of a huge heated shed complete with a full-service bar and home theater to house the animal trophies." The documents for the first time show photographs of some of the displays. The Hennesseys' last trip was to Australia in August 2018, just prior to the irregularities being discovered.

The documents say Hennessey from January 2013 to November 2017 misappropriated more than $416,245 to pay Taxidermy Unlimited, owned by Betty and Marv Gaston in Burnsville, Minn. At least 10 of the checks for tens of thousands of dollars — up to $75,000 in 2013 — were to Marv Gaston.

The Gastons were involved in the contract-for-deed sale of property in Kanabec County, Minn. The purchase was at 2.5 percent interest for a total of $450,000. The property included a small rambler, but also a shed that has living quarters.

Hennessey was buying the property from brothers Joey and Jeff Tromburg. But instead of making a downpayment himself, the Gastons say Hennessey asked them to obtain a cashier's check of $98,190.07 to pay to Casterton Title and Closing Co. Hennessey then used co-op money to reimburse Betty Gaston for the downpayment. He also used co-op funds to pay for a $10,000 survey of the property.

There would later be checks from the co-op payable to the Tromburg brothers totaling $106,676.80 that were labeled in company books as "advance" and "soybeans." The final payment on the land was made Jan. 31, 2017.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I know for absolute fact that several exhibitors were served with lawsuits related to this matter at the SCI convention last week.

Would be interesting to see if the outfitters cashed checks and received wires from the entities (grain elevator) and not the individual.

That should have set of a warning signal.

Mike

Mike:

That is exactly what happened. While this might be a warning sign to you or I, I imagine an outfitter or taxidermist doesn't have the slightest idea what it means. I really doubt that Cabela's did anything but process the check.

I really question what will be accomplished by suing an outfitter from another country with no assets in the US.

Larry:

I think the lawyers for the estate will sue all parties above a certain $ amount.

This is a tough one cause this guy had been doing it for so long. Tough for outfitters to sort him out as a fraud.

Mike

There seems to be debate about how much his wife knew. I, for one, am inclined to think she was ignorant of the whole thing....or I want to know where he found a wife who is cool with him spending 7 figure (even of someone else's money) on hunting!

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I know for absolute fact that several exhibitors were served with lawsuits related to this matter at the SCI convention last week.

Would be interesting to see if the outfitters cashed checks and received wires from the entities (grain elevator) and not the individual.

That should have set of a warning signal.

Mike

Mike:

That is exactly what happened. While this might be a warning sign to you or I, I imagine an outfitter or taxidermist doesn't have the slightest idea what it means. I really doubt that Cabela's did anything but process the check.

I really question what will be accomplished by suing an outfitter from another country with no assets in the US.

I have wired money from business accounts and written checks; on the checks I write "draw" so my admin (she downloads transactions) knows it isn't a biz expense. The wires are also draws. No outfitter has ever questioned me. For that matter, neither has the IRS since my quarterly est payments come out of business accounts.

This co-op guy is an amateur compared to a CFO of a small credit union in the area where I used to work. He was a big spender at his local church; took the local priest to Rome and spared no expense.Local towns named him 'Man of The Year' for his development plans. Spent over half mil on window treatments in his custom built home (on a salary of ~75K a year). He got over 18 mil in 12 years.

http://wcrz.com/michael-lajoic...s-in-federal-prison/

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:
There seems to be debate about how much his wife knew. I, for one, am inclined to think she was ignorant of the whole thing....or I want to know where he found a wife who is cool with him spending 7 figure (even of someone else's money) on hunting!

I respectfully disagree. She signed their tax returns. She knew what his salary was. Only someone who was absolutely oblivious would think that they could afford to go on those hunts on his salary.

https://www.agweek.com/busines...g-game-hunting-firms



Defrauded co-op goes after six big-game hunting firms
By Mikkel Pates / Agweek Staff Writer Today at 12:38 p.m.

ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — The defunct Ashby (Minn.) Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. is going after $831,500 from six guiding services who had received checks direct from the co-op to pay for "exotic and expensive" hunts by former general manager Jerry Hennessey.

Hennessey on Feb. 14 pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges related to embezzling more than $5 million and is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. Penalties could range from 6.5 to 8 years in prison and $6.5 million in restitution.


Because of the losses, the co-op closed its doors Sept. 14 , 2018, and leased out its facilities.

Lawyer Erik Ahlgren of Fergus Falls, Minn., is working to retrieve $559,965 from checks written directly from the co-op to hunting and guiding companies. He says other checks to the companies may have come from Hennessey or other sources.

The civil suits were filed in Grant County District Court at Elbow Lake. The co-op served all of the guides on Jan. 8 at a Safari Club International event in Reno, Nev.

Here are the suits, in order of size:

• $312,150 — Jay Link, sole owner of Link's Wild Safaris of Superior, Wis. Link's attorneys asked to dismiss the claims, on grounds Link isn't a Minnesotan and doesn't have a business there.

Ahlgren said Link had received checks "clearly identified" as coming form the co-op. Elevator records indicated Hennessey internally had labeled the payments "soybeans, wheat, corn feed."

Link established Link's Wild Safaris in about 2014. Link used the same Burnsville, Minn., taxidermist that Hennessey used. Link had met with Hennessey at Safari Club International meetings in Nevada.

Co-op checks ranging from $5,500 to $73,750 were written to Link from Oct. 30, 2015, to Feb. 18, 2018. Based on the name of the co-op checks, Link "knew or should have known they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative for expenses unrelated to the business," Ahlgren argues, noting the co-op elevator did not owe any money.

The 2015 transactions involved a trip to Uganda. The 2016 and 2017 transactions involved two hunts to Cameroon. The 2018 transactions involved a hunt to Nepal.

Ahlgren said Link had strong ties to Minnesota, in that prior to 2009, he was president and chief executive officer for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, with manufacturing facilities in Mankato, Minn. In an online description, Link described it as "the largest meat snack business in the world."

• $245,000 — Diekie Muller Hunting Safaris of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and owner Diecke Muller, for three checks from 2013 to 2015, including two that were $100,000 each.

• $152,500 — Track & Trail Safaris, at Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand, and owners Chris and Peg Bilkey. The first checks were written in 2014 and $63,000 in checks were written in 2018.

On Feb. 8, those three defendants exercised their right to be "removed" to federal court, based in part on the size of the claims. All three are represented by Briggs and Morgan, P.A., a St. Paul, Minn., law firm.

These cases are still in Grant County:

• $46,330 — Stone Mountain Safaris of St. Helen's, Ore., with owners Leif, Kellie, Larry and Betty Olson, with offices in Toad River, British Columbia, Canada.

• $41,995 — Fejes Guide Services Ltd., Anchorage, Alaska, and owner Samual Fejes, for checks from 2011 to 2014.

• $33,500 — Mabula Pro Safaris of Limpopo, South Africa, and Christos and Stella Gomes. Trip payments started in 2013.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://www.agweek.com/busines...g-game-hunting-firms



Defrauded co-op goes after six big-game hunting firms
By Mikkel Pates / Agweek Staff Writer Today at 12:38 p.m.

ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — The defunct Ashby (Minn.) Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. is going after $831,500 from six guiding services who had received checks direct from the co-op to pay for "exotic and expensive" hunts by former general manager Jerry Hennessey.

Hennessey on Feb. 14 pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges related to embezzling more than $5 million and is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. Penalties could range from 6.5 to 8 years in prison and $6.5 million in restitution.


Because of the losses, the co-op closed its doors Sept. 14 , 2018, and leased out its facilities.

Lawyer Erik Ahlgren of Fergus Falls, Minn., is working to retrieve $559,965 from checks written directly from the co-op to hunting and guiding companies. He says other checks to the companies may have come from Hennessey or other sources.

The civil suits were filed in Grant County District Court at Elbow Lake. The co-op served all of the guides on Jan. 8 at a Safari Club International event in Reno, Nev.

Here are the suits, in order of size:

• $312,150 — Jay Link, sole owner of Link's Wild Safaris of Superior, Wis. Link's attorneys asked to dismiss the claims, on grounds Link isn't a Minnesotan and doesn't have a business there.

Ahlgren said Link had received checks "clearly identified" as coming form the co-op. Elevator records indicated Hennessey internally had labeled the payments "soybeans, wheat, corn feed."

Link established Link's Wild Safaris in about 2014. Link used the same Burnsville, Minn., taxidermist that Hennessey used. Link had met with Hennessey at Safari Club International meetings in Nevada.

Co-op checks ranging from $5,500 to $73,750 were written to Link from Oct. 30, 2015, to Feb. 18, 2018. Based on the name of the co-op checks, Link "knew or should have known they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative for expenses unrelated to the business," Ahlgren argues, noting the co-op elevator did not owe any money.

The 2015 transactions involved a trip to Uganda. The 2016 and 2017 transactions involved two hunts to Cameroon. The 2018 transactions involved a hunt to Nepal.

Ahlgren said Link had strong ties to Minnesota, in that prior to 2009, he was president and chief executive officer for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, with manufacturing facilities in Mankato, Minn. In an online description, Link described it as "the largest meat snack business in the world."

• $245,000 — Diekie Muller Hunting Safaris of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and owner Diecke Muller, for three checks from 2013 to 2015, including two that were $100,000 each.

• $152,500 — Track & Trail Safaris, at Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand, and owners Chris and Peg Bilkey. The first checks were written in 2014 and $63,000 in checks were written in 2018.

On Feb. 8, those three defendants exercised their right to be "removed" to federal court, based in part on the size of the claims. All three are represented by Briggs and Morgan, P.A., a St. Paul, Minn., law firm.

These cases are still in Grant County:

• $46,330 — Stone Mountain Safaris of St. Helen's, Ore., with owners Leif, Kellie, Larry and Betty Olson, with offices in Toad River, British Columbia, Canada.

• $41,995 — Fejes Guide Services Ltd., Anchorage, Alaska, and owner Samual Fejes, for checks from 2011 to 2014.

• $33,500 — Mabula Pro Safaris of Limpopo, South Africa, and Christos and Stella Gomes. Trip payments started in 2013.

This is utterly stupid!

What has the booking agents got to do with this??

Oh, I forgot, this is America, where lawyers have to be involved in everything!

Bloody rediculous!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://www.agweek.com/busines...g-game-hunting-firms



Defrauded co-op goes after six big-game hunting firms
By Mikkel Pates / Agweek Staff Writer Today at 12:38 p.m.

ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — The defunct Ashby (Minn.) Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. is going after $831,500 from six guiding services who had received checks direct from the co-op to pay for "exotic and expensive" hunts by former general manager Jerry Hennessey.

Hennessey on Feb. 14 pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges related to embezzling more than $5 million and is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. Penalties could range from 6.5 to 8 years in prison and $6.5 million in restitution.


Because of the losses, the co-op closed its doors Sept. 14 , 2018, and leased out its facilities.

Lawyer Erik Ahlgren of Fergus Falls, Minn., is working to retrieve $559,965 from checks written directly from the co-op to hunting and guiding companies. He says other checks to the companies may have come from Hennessey or other sources.

The civil suits were filed in Grant County District Court at Elbow Lake. The co-op served all of the guides on Jan. 8 at a Safari Club International event in Reno, Nev.

Here are the suits, in order of size:

• $312,150 — Jay Link, sole owner of Link's Wild Safaris of Superior, Wis. Link's attorneys asked to dismiss the claims, on grounds Link isn't a Minnesotan and doesn't have a business there.

Ahlgren said Link had received checks "clearly identified" as coming form the co-op. Elevator records indicated Hennessey internally had labeled the payments "soybeans, wheat, corn feed."

Link established Link's Wild Safaris in about 2014. Link used the same Burnsville, Minn., taxidermist that Hennessey used. Link had met with Hennessey at Safari Club International meetings in Nevada.

Co-op checks ranging from $5,500 to $73,750 were written to Link from Oct. 30, 2015, to Feb. 18, 2018. Based on the name of the co-op checks, Link "knew or should have known they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative for expenses unrelated to the business," Ahlgren argues, noting the co-op elevator did not owe any money.

The 2015 transactions involved a trip to Uganda. The 2016 and 2017 transactions involved two hunts to Cameroon. The 2018 transactions involved a hunt to Nepal.

Ahlgren said Link had strong ties to Minnesota, in that prior to 2009, he was president and chief executive officer for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, with manufacturing facilities in Mankato, Minn. In an online description, Link described it as "the largest meat snack business in the world."

• $245,000 — Diekie Muller Hunting Safaris of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and owner Diecke Muller, for three checks from 2013 to 2015, including two that were $100,000 each.

• $152,500 — Track & Trail Safaris, at Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand, and owners Chris and Peg Bilkey. The first checks were written in 2014 and $63,000 in checks were written in 2018.

On Feb. 8, those three defendants exercised their right to be "removed" to federal court, based in part on the size of the claims. All three are represented by Briggs and Morgan, P.A., a St. Paul, Minn., law firm.

These cases are still in Grant County:

• $46,330 — Stone Mountain Safaris of St. Helen's, Ore., with owners Leif, Kellie, Larry and Betty Olson, with offices in Toad River, British Columbia, Canada.

• $41,995 — Fejes Guide Services Ltd., Anchorage, Alaska, and owner Samual Fejes, for checks from 2011 to 2014.

• $33,500 — Mabula Pro Safaris of Limpopo, South Africa, and Christos and Stella Gomes. Trip payments started in 2013.

This is utterly stupid!

What has the booking agents got to do with this??

Oh, I forgot, this is America, where lawyers have to be involved in everything!

Bloody rediculous!

Maybe participating in a financial fraud.

Overseas outfitters have less liability but us booking agent should notice where the wires are coming from businesses.

If I was a booking agent and my client was paying for hunts from accounts of Halliburton American Airlines or local water district I would be very careful.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://www.agweek.com/busines...g-game-hunting-firms



Defrauded co-op goes after six big-game hunting firms
By Mikkel Pates / Agweek Staff Writer Today at 12:38 p.m.

ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — The defunct Ashby (Minn.) Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. is going after $831,500 from six guiding services who had received checks direct from the co-op to pay for "exotic and expensive" hunts by former general manager Jerry Hennessey.

Hennessey on Feb. 14 pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges related to embezzling more than $5 million and is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. Penalties could range from 6.5 to 8 years in prison and $6.5 million in restitution.


Because of the losses, the co-op closed its doors Sept. 14 , 2018, and leased out its facilities.

Lawyer Erik Ahlgren of Fergus Falls, Minn., is working to retrieve $559,965 from checks written directly from the co-op to hunting and guiding companies. He says other checks to the companies may have come from Hennessey or other sources.

The civil suits were filed in Grant County District Court at Elbow Lake. The co-op served all of the guides on Jan. 8 at a Safari Club International event in Reno, Nev.

Here are the suits, in order of size:

• $312,150 — Jay Link, sole owner of Link's Wild Safaris of Superior, Wis. Link's attorneys asked to dismiss the claims, on grounds Link isn't a Minnesotan and doesn't have a business there.

Ahlgren said Link had received checks "clearly identified" as coming form the co-op. Elevator records indicated Hennessey internally had labeled the payments "soybeans, wheat, corn feed."

Link established Link's Wild Safaris in about 2014. Link used the same Burnsville, Minn., taxidermist that Hennessey used. Link had met with Hennessey at Safari Club International meetings in Nevada.

Co-op checks ranging from $5,500 to $73,750 were written to Link from Oct. 30, 2015, to Feb. 18, 2018. Based on the name of the co-op checks, Link "knew or should have known they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative for expenses unrelated to the business," Ahlgren argues, noting the co-op elevator did not owe any money.

The 2015 transactions involved a trip to Uganda. The 2016 and 2017 transactions involved two hunts to Cameroon. The 2018 transactions involved a hunt to Nepal.

Ahlgren said Link had strong ties to Minnesota, in that prior to 2009, he was president and chief executive officer for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, with manufacturing facilities in Mankato, Minn. In an online description, Link described it as "the largest meat snack business in the world."

• $245,000 — Diekie Muller Hunting Safaris of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and owner Diecke Muller, for three checks from 2013 to 2015, including two that were $100,000 each.

• $152,500 — Track & Trail Safaris, at Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand, and owners Chris and Peg Bilkey. The first checks were written in 2014 and $63,000 in checks were written in 2018.

On Feb. 8, those three defendants exercised their right to be "removed" to federal court, based in part on the size of the claims. All three are represented by Briggs and Morgan, P.A., a St. Paul, Minn., law firm.

These cases are still in Grant County:

• $46,330 — Stone Mountain Safaris of St. Helen's, Ore., with owners Leif, Kellie, Larry and Betty Olson, with offices in Toad River, British Columbia, Canada.

• $41,995 — Fejes Guide Services Ltd., Anchorage, Alaska, and owner Samual Fejes, for checks from 2011 to 2014.

• $33,500 — Mabula Pro Safaris of Limpopo, South Africa, and Christos and Stella Gomes. Trip payments started in 2013.

This is utterly stupid!

What has the booking agents got to do with this??

Oh, I forgot, this is America, where lawyers have to be involved in everything!

Bloody rediculous!

The outfitters were, in essence, receiving stolen property. This is a crime in the USA. I doubt that these cases would make it to court, however.

For those of you asking why the board didn’t see this sooner:
You have to understand that local co-op elevators were not set up to make money as a lone entity. They were created (mostly over 100 years ago) to give small farmers a way to have better buying and selling power. Any profit was dispersed to “members”, those people that did business with the co-op, as dividend checks. Most co-op boards kept the books about even spending any profit on improving equipment and facilities.

Fast forward to current times. Most co-ops are not member owned like this one. Most have gone broke or sold to a corporate grain business such as ADM or Cargill. Or they have transitioned into a lone business entity. With the advances in on farm storage of grain, abilities to market grain and livestock, and access to grain and livestock transportation, even a “small” farmer has as much traction (usually more) as these small co-ops.

Board positions are unpaid. I would be willing to bet most of the board members did more dollars worth of business than the $2 million a year this elevator did. That being said I’m willing to bet most board meetings consisted of Hennessey telling them all was good, considering a few complaints from customers and then cracking open a beer. Unless there is a problem a small town co-op board member doesn’t look very closely at the books. They hire a manager, that’s usually a friend, relative, or a relative of a friend. They know them and trust them and leave them alone.

This guy got greedy. Had he played it right he would have never got caught. It’s usually a well known fact that the local co-op manager is skimming somewhere somehow.

Basic controls were not in place.

Monthly bank reconciliation would show incoming and outgoing expenses. Simple.

From accounting software you can actually sort by value and look at top 10 expenses each week and see what is going on.

I am amazed that they did not do this and just trusted this one guy to have all control.

They did not even have a second staff or a local auditor to do an annual check. It would not have cost a lot to do that.

quote:

Originally posted by Alec Torres:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://www.agweek.com/busines...g-game-hunting-firms



Defrauded co-op goes after six big-game hunting firms
By Mikkel Pates / Agweek Staff Writer Today at 12:38 p.m.

ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — The defunct Ashby (Minn.) Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. is going after $831,500 from six guiding services who had received checks direct from the co-op to pay for "exotic and expensive" hunts by former general manager Jerry Hennessey.

Hennessey on Feb. 14 pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges related to embezzling more than $5 million and is scheduled to be sentenced June 12. Penalties could range from 6.5 to 8 years in prison and $6.5 million in restitution.


Because of the losses, the co-op closed its doors Sept. 14 , 2018, and leased out its facilities.

Lawyer Erik Ahlgren of Fergus Falls, Minn., is working to retrieve $559,965 from checks written directly from the co-op to hunting and guiding companies. He says other checks to the companies may have come from Hennessey or other sources.

The civil suits were filed in Grant County District Court at Elbow Lake. The co-op served all of the guides on Jan. 8 at a Safari Club International event in Reno, Nev.

Here are the suits, in order of size:

• $312,150 — Jay Link, sole owner of Link's Wild Safaris of Superior, Wis. Link's attorneys asked to dismiss the claims, on grounds Link isn't a Minnesotan and doesn't have a business there.

Ahlgren said Link had received checks "clearly identified" as coming form the co-op. Elevator records indicated Hennessey internally had labeled the payments "soybeans, wheat, corn feed."

Link established Link's Wild Safaris in about 2014. Link used the same Burnsville, Minn., taxidermist that Hennessey used. Link had met with Hennessey at Safari Club International meetings in Nevada.

Co-op checks ranging from $5,500 to $73,750 were written to Link from Oct. 30, 2015, to Feb. 18, 2018. Based on the name of the co-op checks, Link "knew or should have known they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative for expenses unrelated to the business," Ahlgren argues, noting the co-op elevator did not owe any money.

The 2015 transactions involved a trip to Uganda. The 2016 and 2017 transactions involved two hunts to Cameroon. The 2018 transactions involved a hunt to Nepal.

Ahlgren said Link had strong ties to Minnesota, in that prior to 2009, he was president and chief executive officer for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, with manufacturing facilities in Mankato, Minn. In an online description, Link described it as "the largest meat snack business in the world."

• $245,000 — Diekie Muller Hunting Safaris of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and owner Diecke Muller, for three checks from 2013 to 2015, including two that were $100,000 each.

• $152,500 — Track & Trail Safaris, at Geraldine, South Island, New Zealand, and owners Chris and Peg Bilkey. The first checks were written in 2014 and $63,000 in checks were written in 2018.

On Feb. 8, those three defendants exercised their right to be "removed" to federal court, based in part on the size of the claims. All three are represented by Briggs and Morgan, P.A., a St. Paul, Minn., law firm.

These cases are still in Grant County:

• $46,330 — Stone Mountain Safaris of St. Helen's, Ore., with owners Leif, Kellie, Larry and Betty Olson, with offices in Toad River, British Columbia, Canada.

• $41,995 — Fejes Guide Services Ltd., Anchorage, Alaska, and owner Samual Fejes, for checks from 2011 to 2014.

• $33,500 — Mabula Pro Safaris of Limpopo, South Africa, and Christos and Stella Gomes. Trip payments started in 2013.

This is utterly stupid!

What has the booking agents got to do with this??

Oh, I forgot, this is America, where lawyers have to be involved in everything!

Bloody rediculous!

The outfitters were, in essence, receiving stolen property. This is a crime in the USA. I doubt that these cases would make it to court, however.

True, plus there are some issues with the bankruptcy laws .

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Basic controls were not in place.

Monthly bank reconciliation would show incoming and outgoing expenses. Simple.

From accounting software you can actually sort by value and look at top 10 expenses each week and see what is going on.

I am amazed that they did not do this and just trusted this one guy to have all control.

They did not even have a second staff or a local auditor to do an annual check. It would not have cost a lot to do that.

I agree. However it’s just not the way it’s done out here. If Hennessey said he was trading grain they took him at his word. Not saying it’s good business, just saying that’s how they got in this jam.

quote:

Originally posted by Opus1:
At least he didn't piss the money away on stupid stuff.

LOL

My first thought.

Sad so many don't have much of a sense of humor.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I know for absolute fact that several exhibitors were served with lawsuits related to this matter at the SCI convention last week.

Would be interesting to see if the outfitters cashed checks and received wires from the entities (grain elevator) and not the individual.

That should have set of a warning signal.

Mike

Mike:

That is exactly what happened. While this might be a warning sign to you or I, I imagine an outfitter or taxidermist doesn't have the slightest idea what it means. I really doubt that Cabela's did anything but process the check.

I really question what will be accomplished by suing an outfitter from another country with no assets in the US.

Larry:

I think the lawyers for the estate will sue all parties above a certain $ amount.

This is a tough one cause this guy had been doing it for so long. Tough for outfitters to sort him out as a fraud.

Mike

I find it interesting that they didn't sue Cabela's.

Perhaps I missed it but his taxidermist got a pile of money as well.

https://www.duluthnewstribune....ed-in-North-Carolina


Big-game hunting embezzler from Minnesota imprisoned in North Carolina

Written By: Mikkel Pates / Forum News Service | Aug 19th 2019 - 6am.

BUTNER, N.C. — Jerry Hennessey, who used money from the elevator he managed in Minnesota to pay for big-game hunting trips, on July 29 reported to the low-security area of Butner Federal Correctional Institution in North Carolina.

Hennessey, the former general manager of the Ashby Farmers Elevator Cooperative, was sentenced June 21 in Fergus Falls, Minn. He will serve eight years in prison for federal wire fraud and income tax charges. He pleaded guilty to stealing more than $5 million from the co-op over at least 15 years and writing co-op checks for big-game hunting trips across the globe. He had spent more than $500,000 on taxidermy alone and built facilities at his rural home to display it. Many of the payments were labeled for corn and soybeans to mask the fraud.

Hennessey’s fraud caused the dissolution of the co-op and sale of its assets, as well as the end of his marriage. Erik Ahlgren, a Fergus Falls attorney who serves as a state sponsored trustee for the former cooperative, confirmed that Hennessey’s Dalton residence with its two large outbuildings for taxidermy remains for sale.

Hennessey, 56, requested to be placed at the federal prison in Duluth and U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim said he would request it but could not guarantee it. Hennessey had been living with a daughter in the Minneapolis area. Butner is 1,200 miles from Minneapolis, nearly a 19-hour drive.

Butner's low security area holds about 1,100 men. The institution lists Hennessey’s release date as May 21, 2026. There is no parole in the federal system, one of the reforms in the federal Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.


Other inmates at the medium-security area of Butner include Bernie Madoff, who was convicted in 2009 for perpetrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, robbing thousands of investors of about $65 billion, and Gilberto Rodgriguez Orejuela, a Columbian drug lord who is serving a 30-year sentence for co-founding the former Cali Cartel.

The Bureau of Prisons “attempts” to place inmates within a 500-mile radius of their “release residence,” according to its online information.

A bureau spokesperson declined to speak to the “circumstances relating to an individual inmate’s designation” to a particular institution. A “number of factors are considered,” including “security, population, programming, and medical needs.”

Hennessey in court noted he is a diabetic. He had taken several weeks of diabetic supplies when he asked a former elevator worker to drive him from Ashby to Des Moines in September 2018, prior to being charged with federal fraud charges. Hennessey returned to Minnesota and turned himself in after federal charges were filed in December.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:


Lawyer Erik Ahlgren of Fergus Falls, Minn., is working to retrieve $559,965 from checks written directly from the co-op to hunting and guiding companies. He says other checks to the companies may have come from Hennessey or other sources.

Here are the suits, in order of size:

• $312,150 — Jay Link, sole owner of Link's Wild Safaris of Superior, Wis. Link's attorneys asked to dismiss the claims, on grounds Link isn't a Minnesotan and doesn't have a business there.

Ahlgren said Link had received checks "clearly identified" as coming form the co-op. Elevator records indicated Hennessey internally had labeled the payments "soybeans, wheat, corn feed."

Link established Link's Wild Safaris in about 2014. Link used the same Burnsville, Minn., taxidermist that Hennessey used. Link had met with Hennessey at Safari Club International meetings in Nevada.

Co-op checks ranging from $5,500 to $73,750 were written to Link from Oct. 30, 2015, to Feb. 18, 2018. Based on the name of the co-op checks, Link "knew or should have known they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative for expenses unrelated to the business," Ahlgren argues, noting the co-op elevator did not owe any money.

The 2015 transactions involved a trip to Uganda. The 2016 and 2017 transactions involved two hunts to Cameroon. The 2018 transactions involved a hunt to Nepal.

Ahlgren said Link had strong ties to Minnesota, in that prior to 2009, he was president and chief executive officer for Jack Link's Beef Jerky, with manufacturing facilities in Mankato, Minn. In an online description, Link described it as "the largest meat snack business in the world."

Interesting how Jay Link comes up in this thread. Sometimes those in the hunting world you think are the most ethical turn out to be anything but...

Like I said in the Link sex thread, "self-absorbed" seems an apt fitting for many.

It really does not matter for Link.

Why should he have questioned where the money was coming from?

In fact, I write checks from my company account all the time, and if anyone questions this, I will take my business somewhere else.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It really does not matter for Link.

Why should he have questioned where the money was coming from?

In fact, I write checks from my company account all the time, and if anyone questions this, I will take my business somewhere else.

Saeed:

I write company checks all the time too, but when I do for personal use I write "draw" on the memo so my accounting person knows it is not a company expense and puts in a draw/equity account.

Note this guy wrote "soybeans, wheat, corn feed" on the memo line of his checks (not once but many times). Why did he do that more than once? Link should have questioned it, but one has to also ask "who the hell was auditing the books??"

You are right.

In my instance the accountant puts it into what we call “owners account”, and is accounted for at the year end.

Also, as we have no income tax, this is only for us keep proper books for accounting purposes.

In addition, I’m sure co-op was with the name of the account holder. That is a red flag, especially when you add in the soy beans, etc.

Mr. Link appears to be keeping his lawyers quite busy.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Mr. Link appears to be keeping his lawyers quite busy.

And the lawyers make all the money.

Win or lose.

Doctors get paid win or lose, too. But they bury their mistakes.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It really does not matter for Link.

Why should he have questioned where the money was coming from?

In fact, I write checks from my company account all the time, and if anyone questions this, I will take my business somewhere else.

Saeed:

I write company checks all the time too, but when I do for personal use I write "draw" on the memo so my accounting person knows it is not a company expense and puts in a draw/equity account.

Note this guy wrote "soybeans, wheat, corn feed" on the memo line of his checks (not once but many times). Why did he do that more than once? Link should have questioned it, but one has to also ask "who the hell was auditing the books??"

There was no audit of the records.

I agree with what is being said about the checks. However, certain Federal laws put the recipients in a bad position. Thus, the claw-back lawsuits.

The article says the checks were INTERNALLY labeled as corn feed, etc... not in the check memo.

People likely thought Hennessey OWNED the grain elevator, as he appeared to be such a high-roller.

Funny that he's locked up with Madoff. Ol' Bernie is probably a real idol to him...

https://www.echopress.com/busi...ing-elevator-manager

Link has some trophy room photos.



Ashby co-op sues taxidermist, says it should have suspected fraud from embezzling elevator manager

Jerry Hennessey paid over $500,000 in Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator funds to Marvin and Betty Gaston, of Taxidermy Unlimited Inc., over 6 years.

Written By: Mikkel Pates / Forum News Service | Sep 18th 2019 - 8am.



ELBOW LAKE, Minn. — Creditors of the former Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator are suing taxidermists for a half-million dollars, claiming they should have realized former elevator manager Jerry Hennessey was improperly paying for mounting trophies using co-op checks.

Lawyer Erik Ahlgren, of Fergus Falls, who serves as the assignee for the benefit of creditors, on Monday, Sept. 16, filed a lawsuit in Grant County District Court in Elbow Lake asking that taxidermist Marvin Gaston, his wife Betty Gaston, and their company, Taxidermy Unlimited Inc. of Burnsville, Minn., pay back $514,435.07 in unauthorized payments from the co-op.

The taxidermist suit adds some detail to an extraordinary grain industry fraud committed by Hennessey, 56, who is now serving an eight-year sentence at a federal prison in North Carolina.


In the lawsuit, Ahlgren says the company is entitled to “recover fraudulent transfers, damages and disgorgement” under the Minnesota Fraudulent Transfer Act, which allows a six-year look-back to 2013.


Hennessey was named manager of the Ashby co-op in 1989. Over the years, Hennessey made some $5.4 million in unauthorized payments from co-op accounts. Much of the money was spent on big-game hunting trips around the globe and taxidermy services.

Hennessey had been using Taxidermy Unlimited services since 2009. He initially paid for the services with a Cabela’s Club Visa credit card, which he, in turn, paid for with co-op funds.

‘Should have known’


Between 2013 and 2017, Hennessey wrote $416,245 in co-op checks payable personally to Marvin Gaston. The 12 checks internally were labeled as corn, soybeans or seed and were for up to $75,000 each.

In the suit, Ahlgren says the Gastons “knew or should have known that they were taking checks from an agricultural cooperative, for expenses unrelated to the business of the cooperative. Further, the Gastons accepted funds for Taxidermy Unlimited gift certificates that were donated to Safari Club International and Minnesota Safari Club International as prizes in a club drawing.”



Also, the Gastons accepted co-op funds which Betty transferred by wire to various safari hunting guides and for shipping of “animal skins, hides and heads from Uganda, New Zealand, Spain and South Africa.”

In the lawsuit, Ahlgren also says that Betty Gaston helped Hennessey in his scheme to purchase hunting property in Kanabec County on Oct. 9, 2013. The day before, he requested Betty obtain a cashier’s check of $98,190.07 payable to a title company. Betty then accepted co-op money as “reimbursement,” according to the suit.

The Gastons in April made an appointment to be interviewed by Agweek, but then rescinded the appointment.

On Feb. 14, Hennessey pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges. Separately, on March 15, the co-op in Grant County District Court obtained a $4.9 million state judgment against Hennessey and his wife, Rebecca. In addition to his prison sentence, Hennessey was ordered to pay $5.3 million in restitution.


The co-op’s creditors previously sued some of the guide services Hennessey used on his hunts.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Mr. Link appears to be keeping his lawyers quite busy.

And the lawyers make all the money.

Win or lose.

TRUE.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Doctors get paid win or lose, too. But they bury their mistakes.

FALSE. Damn lawyers would never allow it.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Makes Paul Manafort's $19,000 ostrich jacket sound like small potatoes.

But it pales compared to what Michelle Obama spent, using taxpayer money of course on here lavish world travels...

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Makes Paul Manafort's $19,000 ostrich jacket sound like small potatoes.

But it pales compared to what Michelle Obama spent, using taxpayer money of course on here lavish world travels...

And let us not forget what Trump spends on his golf holiday!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Makes Paul Manafort's $19,000 ostrich jacket sound like small potatoes.

But it pales compared to what Michelle Obama spent, using taxpayer money of course on here lavish world travels...

And let us not forget what Trump spends on his golf holiday!

Or that he donates 100% of his salary to charity....

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Makes Paul Manafort's $19,000 ostrich jacket sound like small potatoes.

But it pales compared to what Michelle Obama spent, using taxpayer money of course on here lavish world travels...

And let us not forget what Trump spends on his golf holiday!

Or that he donates 100% of his salary to charity....

The tax payers still pay for all his expenses at his golf resort!

Is he not charging the government for his stays at his gulf resort?

Do the secret service personnel accompanying him stay there for free?

Are the golf carts they use not charged for?

No matter what color they are, politicians are nothing but crooks!

Crazy!
The taxidermy is shit and the trophy room looks horrible.

Ski+3
Whitefish, MT

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Makes Paul Manafort's $19,000 ostrich jacket sound like small potatoes.

But it pales compared to what Michelle Obama spent, using taxpayer money of course on here lavish world travels...

And let us not forget what Trump spends on his golf holiday!

Or that he donates 100% of his salary to charity....

The tax payers still pay for all his expenses at his golf resort!

Is he not charging the government for his stays at his gulf resort?

Do the secret service personnel accompanying him stay there for free?

Are the golf carts they use not charged for?

No matter what color they are, politicians are nothing but crooks!

Come on, Saeed, a man can't do nothing all the time.

Although I do wish most politicians would.

quote:

Come on, Saeed

TDS

https://www.agweek.com/busines...essey-go-up-for-sale



His trophies are up for sale, link to article and trophies, some photos.