North Dakota Man Among 5 Charged in Cattle Fraud Case

(Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – A North Dakota man is among five people facing federal criminal charges related to investments in a cattle and beef marketing company that was determined to be a Ponzi scheme.

Taylor Bang of Killdeer was named in an indictment filed last week in U.S. District Court in Texas, where Agridime was based.

Agridime promised profits of as much as 30% on investments in cattle. The company bought cattle and sold frozen beef from its website to consumers. But payments to investors and cattle producers dried up, with the company owing investors $220 million, court records allege.

Many of those owed money were in western North Dakota, where Bang bought cattle for Agridime. The North Dakota Securities Commission has said North Dakota investors were owed about $40 million when federal authorities took over the business late in 2023.