Crooked Farmer Goes to Jail and Must Pay $2.5 Million in Restitution

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Defendant Ronnie Jolly pleaded guilty to crop insurance fraud, money laundering, and conspiring to defraud the United States and to commit mail or wire fraud. The Government sought restitution of monies paid by the crop insurance program and Jolly moved to avoid or limit the orders of restitution.

In United States Of America v. Ronnie Jolly, CRIMINAL No. 5:18-32-KKC, United States District Court, E.D. Kentucky, Central Division, Lexington (November 1, 2021) the court dealt with the restitution order.

FACTS

In his plea agreement, Jolly agreed that he owned and rented certain farmland. He agreed that, from 2010 to early 2016, he made material misrepresentations on paperwork regarding the federal crop insurance policies that covered his crops and that he also procured federal crop insurance policies in the names of other people. He agreed that he did all of this to obtain money from the federal government to which he was not entitled. He also agreed that, from 2014 to 2016, he made material misrepresentations to private crop insurance companies to obtain money to which he was not entitled.

After a sentencing hearing conducted on August 13, 2021, the Court entered a judgment sentencing Jolly to a prison term of 36 months. Prior to the sentencing hearing, the government filed a motion seeking restitution of $2,955,163.

The victims, the USDA Risk Management Agency and ARMtech Insurance Services, Inc., have suffered compensable losses. ARMtech Insurance Services submitted a request for restitution in the amount of $238,937 for lost income and $350,289 for necessary other expenses. The request for restitution in its entirety will be provided to the Court.

The MVRA provides that a restitution order must require the defendant to reimburse the victim for lost income and certain necessary expenses including “expenses incurred during participation in the investigation or prosecution of the offense or attendance at proceedings related to the offense.” 18 U.S.C.A. § 3663A(b)(4).

The Court ordered that Jolly pay the full amount of restitution immediately.  Finally, the government requests that certain defendants in other cases involving crop insurance fraud be made jointly and severally liable with Jolly for a portion of the restitution owed by him. 

ZALMA OPINION

Insurance criminals have no shame. The government should take all of Jolly’s assets up to the amount he stole and he should be required to spend all of the time ordered in the grey-bar-hotel.

© 2021 – Barry Zalma

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