Fort Worth, Texas: Jury Convicts Brothers in $240 Million Cattle Fraud Run Through Agridime

A federal jury in Fort Worth has convicted two brothers of running a cattle investment fraud through Agridime, LLC, a Fort Worth company that collected more than $240 million from over 2,200 investors across the United States. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Ryan Raybould, announced the verdict on Wednesday. Jurors returned the guilty findings on Tuesday, November 10, after a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman.

The verdict

Joshua Robert Link, formerly of Strafford, Missouri, was Agridime's co-owner and executive director. He was convicted of two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. His brother Jason Allen Link, of Herington, Kansas, owned Shady Brook Ranch, LLC and worked as an Agridime livestock broker. He was convicted of one count of wire fraud conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Each fraud and conspiracy count carries up to 20 years in prison, and each money laundering count up to 10 years, plus restitution and penalties.

How the scheme worked

Agridime sold cattle contracts to the public online and through direct solicitation. For $2,000, a buyer was told the money would purchase one specific steer or heifer, pay to raise and process that animal, and return value when its meat was sold. Prosecutors said the promises were false, and trial evidence showed the company used buyer money to pay its own operating expenses, loan payments and what it owed earlier buyers. From January 2021 through December 2023, Agridime collected over $240 million and sold contracts for about 60,000 more cattle than it actually controlled. It also overstated its herd to obtain loans from banks, private lenders and feedlots, court records show.

"These defendants preyed directly on Main Street Americans who believed they were investing in cattle contracts," Raybould said. "Instead of building a legitimate cattle business, the Link brothers ran a high-tech Ponzi scheme, siphoning away hard-earned life savings to build luxury retreats and line their own pockets."

Where the money went

Prosecutors said the brothers paid themselves excessive salaries and commissions. From 2022 through 2023, Joshua Link and Tia Makenzie Link received more than $2.7 million, and operations director Jed Hansel Wood received more than $2.4 million. Bank records tied investor money to personal spending, including $1,498,275 paid to build a five-bedroom barndominium residence in Herington, Kansas, for the brothers' recreational use, and $24,838 to buy a 2006 Hummer H2. The jury also found the brothers billed Agridime more than $2.7 million in false feed and yardage charges through Jason Link's business for services never provided, so Agridime paid twice for the same cattle feed. FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said the convictions reflected the brothers' calculated efforts to lure investors and misappropriate their funds.

Four others pleaded guilty

Four other people in the case pleaded guilty before the trial: operations director Jed Hansel Wood of Fort Worth and cattle broker Taylor Orris Bang of Killdeer, North Dakota, each to one count of wire fraud conspiracy; marketing director Tia Makenzie Link of Smithton, Missouri, to one count of money laundering; and financial controller Royana Jane Thomas of Arlington, Texas, to one count of wire fraud conspiracy on November 4.

What happens next

Sentencing for Joshua Link and Jason Link is set for March 4, 2027, in federal court in Fort Worth. The FBI's Fort Worth Resident Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McDonald and Allyson Monte prosecuted it.