Here’s why ‘ghost-cattle’ fraudster Easterday isn’t starting his federal prison term yet

An Eastern Washington rancher at the center of a fraud scandal and ensuing bankruptcy has been given five more months to work on “the mess that he has created” before going to federal prison.

Cody A. Easterday now faces sentencing June 13 in Richland’s U.S. District Court for wire fraud involving Tyson Foods and another company.

It was the third request for a delay by Easterday’s defense attorneys.

Easterday — the former head of Easterday Farms and Easterday Ranches, both based in Pasco — is looking at a maximum 20 years behind bars.

The 50-year-old pleaded guilty last March in federal court to a single count of wire fraud in an agreement that includes $244 million in restitution.

Chief Judge Stanley A. Bastian granted the recent motion, saying he was not doing it for the convenience of Easterday or his criminal lawyer but for the bankruptcy court.

Sentencing had been set for Jan. 24.

“Had Mr. Easterday contested these charges and gone to trial, which of course is his right, based on the normal processing of cases in this district he’d still be looking at trial later this year,” Bastian said at the hearing. “COVID has slowed us down, and without COVID we’d usually go 18 to 24 months from indictment to resolution.”

The judge noted that although there have been some delays in getting to sentencing, the case still is well ahead of schedule compared to other cases in the Eastern Washington federal district.

“That’s because Mr. Easterday pled guilty and has taken responsibility ... for the mess that he has created,” he said.

Bastian further explained that he called it a mess because Easterday has not only his criminal case, but civil and bankruptcy actions involving the farm and ranch corporations and a multitude of victims.

“I can’t find a better word,” he said.

The judge said Easterday will “face punishment in due time,” but for now is doing what he promised when he entered his guilty plea by “cleaning this mess up.”

Bastian said while most hearings remain virtual, he wants everyone to be in person in the courtroom for sentencing because it is a significant enough case.

Prosecutors object

A federal prosecutor objected to the delay, saying it is time for Easterday to be “held accountable for the largest fraud that I have prosecuted in my career.”

Defense attorney Carl Oreskovich said Easterday and his family are fighting a lawsuit connected to the former agricultural conglomerate’s bankruptcy case, with a trial scheduled this spring.

He argued that it’s a “monumental amount of work to go back through the documents, deeds, etc.” and that Easterday needs more time to complete all of the work for that separate legal action.

Easterday was charged with a white-collar crime for defrauding Tyson Foods and an unnamed company out of more than $244 million to offset his losses in the commodities trading markets.

Tyson Fresh Meats has a meat processing plant in Wallula and had a longstanding agreement with Easterday Ranches in which money was advanced for the costs of feeding and raising cattle to market weight before they were sent to slaughter.

Tyson was billed by Easterday twice a month for reimbursement.

However, the Easterday invoices included 200,000 cattle that never existed. It has been dubbed a “ghost-cattle scam” by federal prosecutors.

The financial loss led Easterday to file bankruptcy for the two corporations one year ago.

This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 12:39 PM.