North Dakota man among 5 charged in Agridime cattle fraud case
KILLDEER, N.D. (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.
A judge in August 2024 determined that Agridime had operated as a Ponzi scheme, paying off early investors with money raised from new investors, instead of paying investors with profits from the company.
Bang is charged with eight counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of money laundering.
The indictment contends one person sent $240,000 to an account controlled by Bang rather than to an account controlled by Agridime in order to conceal the transaction. The indictment also says Bang falsified dates on records and gave investors false information about identification tags for cattle.
“Thousands of unwitting investors, ranchers, and others in the cattle industry nationwide were drawn in and victimized by the defendants’ multi-million dollar scheme alleged in this indictment,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas said last week in a news release.
One of the other defendants, Joshua Link, is not in custody and is wanted by the FBI.
In addition to Bang, those charged were:
- Jed Wood of Fort Worth, Texas, operations director: Three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of money laundering
- Joshua Link of Strafford, Missouri, executive director: 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering including wiring more than $527,000 to purchase real property
- Tia Link of Smithton, Missouri, marketing director: Three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of money laundering, including wiring more than $527,000 to purchase real property
- Royana Thomas of Arlington, Texas, financial controller: Six counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of money laundering.
The defendants are accused of taking in more than $220 million from more than 2,200 victims throughout the United States, starting in 2021.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count and 20 years for wire fraud conspiracy. Each money laundering count carries a sentence of up to 10 years.
The indictment also says defendants can be forced to forfeit property obtained in the fraud scheme.
The North Dakota Securities Department has said Bang earned $6 million in commissions from Agridime. Bang told the North Dakota Monitor in December 2023 that the figure was “way high.”
Bang and Tia Link made a court appearance in Texas last week. Both were released under pretrial supervision. Their cases are set for a jury trial March 23.
Bang’s attorney, Dan Cogdell of Houston, said Monday he had only just begun to look at the evidence collected in the case, but noted the defendants should be presumed innocent. He declined further comment on the case.
Jed Wood and Royana Thomas are set to appear in court Feb. 25.
John Helms of Dallas, attorney for Tia Link, declined to comment on the case. Attorneys for the other defendants did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Reach Deputy Editor Jeff Beach at jbeach@northdakotamonitor.com
