A former farmer from Shell Rock who admitted lying to secure a massive line of credit from a local bank has been sentenced to federal prison.
Mashon Van Mill was sentenced April 1 to six months behind bars after pleading guilty last fall to making a false statement to a financial institution.
According to court documents, the 41-year-old Van Mill applied for a $1 million farm operating line of credit from a bank where he had been a customer for nearly two years. To secure the loan, he submitted a financial statement claiming he had more than $2 million worth of corn in storage to use as collateral. Investigators later determined that claim was false.
Suspicion arose when a bank employee attempted to verify the information. The employee contacted a grain elevator where Van Mill claimed to store the corn and received a letter allegedly confirming the claim. However, when questioned by law enforcement, the elevator’s owner denied ever sending the letter and said Van Mill had no grain stored there. Authorities also found Van Mill misrepresented other assets, including farm equipment and money he claimed he was owed.
By the time the fraud was uncovered, the bank had already loaned Van Mill $873,118.71. He ultimately defaulted on the full amount, along with other outstanding loans.
Van Mill was ordered to repay $873,118.71 in restitution, with about $258,110 already recovered through wage garnishments and property sales. He will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term, with no possibility of parole. Currently free on bond, he must report to the U.S. Marshal on April 27 to begin his sentence.
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