3 face charges in cattle brokering scam
BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) -- A cattle broker has been accused of defrauding $4.2 million from investors and lenders through scams that included selling the same herd to different buyers.
Kevin Scott O'Brien, 27, of Ronceverte was charged Wednesday in a federal information with one felony count of frauds and swindles.
Two former First National Bank of Ronceverte officials face bribery-related charges stemming from O'Brien's alleged scams.
Charles A. Henthorn of Lewisburg, the bank's former president, was charged in the information with one felony count of accepting about $9,700 in bribes from O'Brien. G. Thomas Garten of Covington, Va., a former member of the bank's board of directors, was charged with one felony count of aiding and abetting the bribes.
An information generally indicates a defendant has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
O'Brien brokered cattle sales in Greenbrier and Monroe counties and in several other states, including Virginia, Illinois, Nebraska and Texas. He operated two businesses, Shamrock Farms and K&M Properties Investments, according to the five-page information filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
State Police began investigating O'Brien after he filed for bankruptcy in April 2006.
He is accused of underreporting his liabilities, distributing false financial statements to lenders and investors, selling the same group of cattle to different buyers, kiting checks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and operating pyramid schemes in which one investor's money was used to fund dealings with another investor, the information said.
O'Brien allegedly made false promises to investors that their money would be invested in specific cattle deals.