Verdict for Sidney-based cattle broker in cattle fraud case

DALLAS – On January 20 in the 271st Judicial District of Texas in Jack County, a jury found Tony Lyon, Owen Lyon and Monna Lyon responsible for defrauding Sidney-based cattle broker Midwestern Cattle Marketing, LLC through the use of a check kiting scheme involving the alleged purchase and sale of cattle in one of the largest cattle fraud cases in Texas history. The Jack County jury awarded $23.1million to Midwestern Cattle in a unanimous verdict.

“At its heart, this case was about the reputation of the Texas livestock industry. I told the jury they had the power to send a message to the rest of the country that Texans do not tolerate cattle fraud and they would protect all people who buy and sell cattle in the Lone Star State. And, God Bless Texas, this jury definitely sent that message,” said Bell Nunnally Partner Chris Trowbridge. Trowbridge represented Midwestern Cattle along with Bell Nunnally Partner Heath Cheek and local counsel Todd Parks of Walters Balido & Crain in Decatur, Texas.

In 2011, Midwestern Cattle, a cattle brokering company with roots in Sidney and Greeley, Colorado, began doing business with Lyon Farms – a cattle business operated by the defendants Owen and Monna Lyon from Perrin, Texas. Tony Lyon, Owen and Monna Lyon’s son and the representative of Lyon Farms, bought and sold cattle through Lyon Farms to Midwestern Cattle, coordinating the sale of the cattle to third-parties. After three years of doing business together and conducting hundreds of transactions, to allow the simultaneous exchange of money for cattle, Midwestern Cattle allowed Tony Lyon to use a Midwestern Cattle checkbook and signature stamp. Lyon Farms, in turn, sent the cattle broker checks pre-signed by Monna Lyon to be filled out with the amounts of transactions.

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