NEWS

Alleged cattle scheme nets indictment

Gazette staff

LOGAN – A Lucasville man has been indicted for what Attorney General Mike DeWine said involves fraudulent purchases of livestock and vehicles.

According to a release from the attorney general’s office, Brandon White, 28, was arraigned Friday after being indicted by a Hocking County grand jury May 22. The 15-count indictment made public Friday is tied to an alleged operation in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia in which he is accused of purchasing more than $30,000 worth of livestock and vehicles by using fraudulent checks and falsified documents.

White was charged with first-degree felony engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts of fourth-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle, both a third-degree and fourth-degree count of theft from an elderly person, five counts of fifth-degree felony theft by deception, two counts of third-degree felony money laundering and three counts of third-degree felony tampering with records.

According to authorities, White allegedly used fake checks to buy cattle from farmers who advertised their animals on Craigslist. Then, when picking up the animals, he allegedly used a false name and paid with a check that did not belong to him and did not have sufficient funds in the account. Before the checks could bounce, he had already sold the cattle, DeWine said.

White is also accused of filing false documents and of stealing vehicles he used to transport the animals. 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 DeWine’s Economic Crimes Unit which was created shortly after he took office in 2011 to help prosecutors and local law enforcement investigate and pursue economic crimes. Several law enforcement agencies across southern Ohio and northern Kentucky and West Virginia assisted in the investigation.

White, who is currently being held in the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail, has already been convicted in Kentucky on similar charges.