News
Man Indicted in Hocking County for Allegedly Running Cattle ‘Scheme’
By: WOUB Staff Writer
Posted on:
LOGAN, Ohio – An Ohio man was indicted by a Hocking County grand jury for allegedly running a livestock and vehicle scheme through three states, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Brandon White, 28, of Lucasville, was indicted for running a scheme in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia where he allegedly purchased over $30,000 worth of livestock and vehicles using fraudulent checks and falsified documents, a press release stated.
White was arraigned after being indicted by a Hocking County grand jury on May 22. The charges listed in the indictment were all felonies, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, grand theft of a motor vehicle, theft by deception, money laundering, tampering with records and two counts of theft of an elderly person.
White is accused of using fraudulent checks to purchase cattle from farmers who had advertised on Craigslist that they had cattle to sell, according to the release.
“When he picked up the animals, he often used a false alias and paid the victim using a check drawn on an account that did not belong to him and had insufficient funds,” the release stated. “White then sold the cattle quickly, before the checks bounced.”
White also is accused of filing false documents and stealing vehicles used to transport the cattle. He allegedly operated under the names B&S Trucking and Livestock LLC and Brandon’s Cattle Company.
The case is being prosecuted by an attorney with Attorney General DeWine’s Economic Crimes Unit. Attorney General DeWine created the Economic Crimes Unit shortly after taking office in 2011 to help prosecutors and local law enforcement investigate and pursue economic crimes.
This case was investigated by the Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Unit along with the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office, Hocking County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson Township Police, Portsmouth Police, Scioto County Sheriff’s Office, Kenova Police (West Virginia), Mercer County Sheriff’s Office (Kentucky), Wood County Sheriff’s Office (West Virginia), and the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
The defendant was convicted in Kentucky on similar charges. He currently is being held in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.