DOJ Charges Kentucky Cattle Company for Falsifying Records

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly indicted a London,
Kentucky-based cattle company and its treasurer for falsifying records
related to a federal investigation and creating false documents. The charges
apparently arise out of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation
to determine whether the company was violating a 2006 court-ordered
injunction requiring it to notify buyers if the company sells them animals
with medical drugs in their systems. The order also requires the company
to “identify the potential cause for the medical drugs in the animals and to
refrain from purchasing animals from sellers who supply cattle that contain
medical drugs.”

Williams Cattle Co. treasurer Pamela Collette allegedly “falsified weekly reports
that were supposed to be sent to buyers verifying that the animals sold were
drug free, in an attempt to influence the outcome of the investigation. She is
also alleged to have created false documents that appeared to be prepared by
a company that sold animals to Williams Cattle, when in fact the company had
not generated the documents.”

Collette will be arraigned in federal court April 24, 2013. If convicted, she
could be sentenced to five years in prison on each charge and a $250,000 fine.
The company faces the same fine for each count. See U.S. DOJ Press Release,
April 9, 2013.