William Dalton Edwards, a 26-year-old resident of Mount Airy, North Carolina, has been sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for his involvement in a livestock theft scheme. The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Edwards is also required to pay $334,350.46 in restitution to the victims.
The investigation revealed that between April 2018 and October 2022, Edwards and co-conspirator Clint Clifford Sicking engaged in fraudulent activities targeting livestock markets in Iredell and Cleveland Counties, North Carolina. They wrote worthless checks to purchase cattle, knowing they lacked sufficient funds. The cattle were then transported out-of-state before the financial institutions could detect the fraud, with the stolen livestock being resold in Texas and Oklahoma.
The scheme resulted in losses exceeding $350,000 for family-owned sales barns in North Carolina, which are obligated to pay farmers immediately after livestock sales. Edwards pleaded guilty on August 2, 2024, to conspiring to defraud the United States and violate its laws. The conspiracy aimed to obstruct the Packers and Stockyard Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s regulation of fair livestock markets and involved false statements to federally insured financial institutions.
Sicking has also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson praised the investigative efforts of multiple agencies including USDA-OIG, U.S. Secret Service, IRS-CI, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, Stanly County District Attorney’s Office, Packers and Stockyard Division of USDA, and Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Rangers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Savage is prosecuting the case.
