Cattlemen start receiving payment from Eastern Livestock

The state of Kentucky has identified 173 people financially victimized by Eastern Livestock and will begin distributing checks this weekend.

Livestock producers agreed to a $900,000 settlement through the attorney general’s office. According to the Bowling Green Daily News, Eastern Livestock executives admitted in court to falsely inflating the balances of bank accounts held by the company between 2009 and 2010, essentially allowing the company officials to buy cattle from producers with nonexistent funds.

The company’s bank closed accounts belonging to Eastern Livestock in November 2010, declining $850,000 worth of checks to farmers who recently sold cattle. Eastern Livestock filed for bankruptcy a month later.

Kentucky’s Attorney General Jack Conway released an announcement earlier this week letting farmers know they could collect payment from his staff at the Comfort Inn, 819 Sanders St., Cave City, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Anyone planning to claim a restitution check will need to photo identification and a letter they received, qualifying them for payment.

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