By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Prison and a $250,000 fine could be what former Michigan farmers reap from admission of bankruptcy and crop insurance fraud.

Mike Stamp, who used to be one of the state’s largest grain producers, could receive up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, mandatory restitution, and a maximum $250,000 fine at his scheduled August 19 sentencing related to crop insurance and bankruptcy fraud.

The Decatur man pled guilty to the allegations on April 12 in a federal courtroom at Kalamazoo. His wife, Melissa Stamp, is also scheduled to be sentenced August 19 after admitting to helping her husband conceal assets during their bankruptcy proceedings. She faces up to three years in prison and one year of supervised release, along with mandatory restitution and fine not to exceed $250,000.

The terms were outlined in separate pleas agreed to by the former owners of Stamp Farms, LLC to avoid as much as 30 years in prison each had they gone to trial and been convicted.

According to court documents, Mike Stamp under a 2017 federal indictment started experiencing financial hardship several years after rapidly increasing his number of acres farmed. He purchased ag land leases in southwestern Michigan, often by paying above market rates, authorities said.

Stamp relied on large bank loans and credit agreements from Wells Fargo to help operate his farming and grain elevator businesses. In or about 2011, needing money to stay afloat and pay off a large bank loan close to maturing, he fraudulently obtained a $68 million credit by misrepresenting the amount of land he farmed, court filings revealed.

He also wasn’t truthful about the value of his farming assets, including harvested grain, fertilizer, and fuel in his credit application, and continued to provide false information about his assets to keep receiving credit extensions, authorities said.

According to court documents, Stamp over the next year or so also submitted false claims to the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. to obtain insurance payments to help pay for some of his farming operations and make lease payments. During bankruptcy proceedings, authorities said he hid assets like his pulling tractor, and funneled money to family and friends to hold until a later date.

His wife knew about the $40,000 he hid from a bank loan creditor but failed to tell authorities in a timely manner, according to filings in the case.

According to court documents, two other associates involved in the crop insurance and bankruptcy fraud conspiracy agreed to lesser charges in exchange for their cooperation to bolster the case against the Stamps.

The crop insurance scheme cost FCIC insurance companies and the U.S. government more than $400,000, authorities said.

Melissa Stamp has already served a 20-month prison sentence leveled in 2015 for concealing money during her husband’s bankruptcy. Her sentencing in that case included close to $200,000 in restitution, according to court records.

Stamp Farms, with acreage in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties, was purchased in 2013 by Boersen Farms out of Zeeland, Mich.