DOJ Recommends 10-Year Sentence for Easterday

Federal prosecutors have recommended Washington state cattleman Cody Easterday spend at least 10 years and one month in prison for a fraud scheme that cost Tyson Fresh Meats and another victim at least $244 million.

Justice Department attorneys filed a memo in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington that called the theft “staggering” and under standard sentencing guidelines recommended Easterday serve between 121 and 151 months, or up to 12 years and seven months.

Easterday’s scheme began to unravel in late 2020 when Tyson announced it was correcting financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its beef segment for fiscal years 2017 through 2020. Tyson discovered “misappropriation of company funds” by one of its suppliers. Court documents later revealed that supplier to be Easterday who was charging Tyson for the costs of buying and feeding as many as 200,000 cattle that did not exist.

Easterday pleaded guilty in the “ghost cattle” scheme in 2021, and his sentencing has been delayed three times to allow Easterday’s legal team to sort out what the judge described as “a mess” in terms of personal financial issues, Easterday’s creditors and Tyson.

Tyson’s losses totaled $233 million and Segale Properties of Tukwila, WA, lost $11 million. Easterday has promised to make restitution as part of the plea agreement.

Easterday accepted responsibility for his crime and sought to raise money for the victims by selling his family's extensive cattle and farm holdings through bankruptcy court, according to the Justice Department.

Sentencing is now scheduled for Oct. 4 in Yakima, WA, by U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Bastian.

By accepting responsibility, Easterday's sentencing range was reduced by approximately four to six years, according to the Justice Department.