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Vol. 155 No.19
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71 Miller l)r., Owingsville, KY #10360
l’l1.: Gilli—(37.179991
“lll'. Bill” Grimes
recognized tor Older
Americans Month
photo by Cecil Lawson
Bill Grimes, with the NewHope Clinic in Owingsville, re-
ceived a certificate of recognition last Wednesday morn-
ing for Older Americans Month from Owingsville Mayor
Gary Hunt.
By Cecil Lawson
KyNewsGroup
_w‘c,ec~ilfi@kmewsgroup.com
May is Older Americans
Month, and each year Ow-
ingsville Mayor Gary Hunt
recognizes an older indi-
vidual in the community
who continues to remain
active and make valuable
contributions.
This year Hunt recog-
nized Bill Grimes, “Dr.
Bill,” as many locally know
him, for his ongoing work
with the NewHope Clinic
in Owingsville.
Grimes and others
helped to found the Ne-
wHope Clinic in October
2000 to serve the needs of
the uninsured and underin-
sured in Bath and Menifee
Counties.
Since that time, the clinic
has provide 42,100 volun-
teer hours, 39,000 patient
visits, and has had 3653 pa-
tients in that time.
Grimes said he was
moved to do something for
the under-and uninsured
after a former patient of his
had died of a long undiag—
nosed lung cancer. He said
she had put off going to the
doctor until she had saved
enough money to pay for
the visit.
Grimes said that showed
him that the health insur-
ance system in the United
States doesn’t work well,
and he and others worked
to provide a bare minimum
access to health care.
He said~ he was also in-
spired by the message of
Matthew 25: “For I was
hungered, and ye gave me
meat; I was thirsty, and
ye gave me drink; I was a
stranger, and ye took me
in; naked, and ye clothed; I
was sick, and ye visited me
“This was a way to
put my faith into action,
Grimes said.
The operation of the Ne-
wHope Clinc subsists en-
tirely on community dona-
tions, including volunteer
medical services. Grimes
said be appreciated the
generosity of the People’s
Bank, as well as the Ne-
wHope’s building’s previ-
ous owners, for allowing
them to be there rent- and
utility free.
Mayor Hunt recognized
Grimes ongoing contribu-
tions to the clinic and the
community. “As a city we
are also a part of this clin-
ic,” Hunt noted. Hunt also
serves on the clinic’s gov.
erning board.
The NewHope Clinic is
located at 41 South Court
Street in Owingsville, be-
hind the old courthouse,
and is open on Thursdays
from 8:30 am. to 3 pm.
Their phone number is
674—8822
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Bringing you Bath County’s News Since 1884
Both Count I
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Local Farmers Plea Guilty to Charges
Related to Crop Insurance Fraud
Several Central Kentucky
men, Roger Wilson, Robert
Livingood, John Watkins,
and Morgan Wayne Culb-
ertson pleaded guilty in fed-
eral court Monday, to charg-
es related to crop insurance
fraud.
Roger Wilson, 88, former
owner of Clay’s Tobacco
Warehouse and current
owner of Ag Wood, Inc.,
both in Mt. Sterling, Ken-
tucky, pleaded guilty to
conspiring to commit crop
insurance fraud before US.
District Judge Karen K
Caldwell. Wilson admitted
that between September
2013 and May 2018, he ar-
ranged for farmers to pur-
chase poor quality tobacco
to present to tobacco grad-
ers, so the farmers could
receive poor quality tobacco
grades to report to on their
federally-backed tobacco in-
surance (called multi—‘pefil'
crop insurance or “MPCI”)
claims of loss. Wilson fur-
ther admitted he knew his
actions were designed to
facilitate the filing of false
claims of loss, which in turn
caused the federal govern-
ment to pay out indemnity
payments, or to increase the
amountof those payments,
to farmers who were not en-
titled to them.
Robert Livingood, 64, a
farmer who owns and rents
tobacco farmland in Bour-
bon, Fleming, Harrison,
and Nicholas Counties, also
pleaded guilty to conspiring
to commit crop insurance
Livingood admit-
ted that, in Crop Year 2014,
he submitted a false MPCI
claim of loss, by submitting
fake tobacco sales bills he
obtained from Clays To-
bacco Warehouse and un-
derreporting the amount of
tobacco production he had
that year. He further admit-
ted to selling muddy tobac-
co, which he knew would
be used by other farmers to
obtain fake grade reports.
According to his plea agree-
ment, Livingood also ob-
tained MPCI policies in his
son’s name, in Crop Years
2014 and 2015, even though
the crop ensured in his son’s
name actually belonged to
Livingood. As a result of
his misrepresentations, Liv-
ingood caused a loss to the
federal government of ap-
proximately $313,652.
John D. Watkins, 49, a
farmer who owns and rents
tobacco farmland in Bath,
Fleming, and Nicholas
Counties, pleaded guilty
to one count of conspiring
to commit crop insurance
fraud and one count of crop
insurance fraud. In his plea
agreement, Watkins admit-
ted to failing to report his to-
tal tobacco production from
Crop Years 2011 through
2014, which influenced the
federal government to pay
out sums of indemnity pay-
ments to which he was not
' entitled. He furtheradr'nit—
ted to having an agreement
with Kevin Watkins, his co—
defendant, to handle Kevin
Watkins’s MPCI paperwork
and to fail to accurately
report Kevin Watkins’s to-
bacco production, likewise
influencing the federal gov-
ermnent to pay out indemni-
ty payments to which Kevin
Watkins was not entitled.
Morgan Wayne Culbert-
son, 33, a farmer with tobac-
co farmland in Montgomery,
Clark, and Bath Counties,
also pleaded guilty today to
a conspiracy to commit crop
insurance fraud. Accord-'
ing to his plea agreement,
Culbertson underreported
his crop production on his
MPCI claims of loss, by,
among other things, selling
tobacco for cash at Clay’s
Tobacco Warehouse .and
failing to report tobacco he
sold in others’ names. He
also admitted to obtaining
fake grade sheets by pay-
ing $0.20 per pound to ob
tain quality adjustments on
the tobacco production he
did report In Crop Years
2015 and 2016, Culbertson
also failed to report his to-
tal production on his own
policies. He also obtained
policies and filed claims of
loss, including fake sale bills
from Clay’s Tobacco Ware-
house, on MPCI policies in
the names" of his brother
(2014 and 2015), grandfa-
ther (2014 and 2015), and
mother (2015 and 2016).
Previously, two other
farmers, Jesse Smith and R.
Chad Price, pleaded guilty
to crop insurance fraud re-
lated offenses. On April 29,
2021, Jesse Smith, 56, plead-
ed guilty to committing crop
insurance fraud. On May
5, 2021 Price, 39, pleaded
guilty to conspiring to com-
mit crop insurance fraud
and tax evasion. Smith and
Price both admitted to work-
ing with others to Submit
false MPCI claims of loss.
Acting US. Attorney
Carlton S. Shier IV; Jason
M. Williams, Special Agent
in Charge, United States
Department of Agriculture
Office of Inspector Gen-
eral; Bryant Jackson, Spe-
cial Agent in Charge, IRS
— Criminal Investigation;
James Robert Brown, Jr.
Special Agent in Charge,
Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation, Louisville Field Of-
ficez, and Sharon H Clark,
Commissioner, Kentucky
Department of Insurance
jointly announced the guilty
pleas.
The investigation was con-
ducted by the United States
Department of Agriculture
Office of Inspector General;
United States Department
of Agriculture Risk Manage
ment Agency; Internal Rev-
enue Service, Criminal In-
vestigation; Federal Bureau
of Investigation; and the
Kentucky Department of In-
surance. The United States
was represented by Assis-
tant US. Attorneys Kathryn
Anderson and Erin Roth.
Jesse Smith and R. Chad
Price face a maximum sen-
tence of five years in prison
and a fine of $250,000Jesse
Smith, R. Chad Price, Roger
Wilson. John D. Watkins are
scheduled to be sentenced
on August 19, 2021. Wilson
faces a maximum sentence
of five years in prison and a
fine of $250,000, while Wat—
kins faces a maximum of
thirty years in prison and a
fine of $1,000,000. Robert
Livingood and Morgan Cul-
bertson face a maximum
sentence of five years in
prison and a fine of $250,000
and are scheduled to be
sentenced on August 12,
2021. Any sentence will be
imposed by the Court, after
its consideration of the US.
Sentencing Guidelines and
the federal statutes.
This ongoing crop insur-
ance fraud investigation,
which stretches back nearly
a decade, has resulted in the
arrests of dozens of farmers
across Central Kentucky.
News of the investigation
‘ first brokeawhenFBI, IRS,
and USDA officials descend-
ed upon the homes of Earl
Planck, Jr. of Moorefield and
insurance agent Michael
McNew in Mt. Sterling, and
Wilson’s business in Mt
Sterling in December 2014.
McNew pleaded guilty to his
role in the scheme last year
and is scheduled to be sen-
tenced in August Planck
has pleaded not guilty, and
court records indicate a jury
trial in his case is scheduled
to begin on June 21.
Seventeen other Central
Kentucky tobacco farmers
settled civil cases last Oc-
tober in which they were
accused of falsely report:
ing federal crop insurance
claims. Some of the farm-
ers filedthe claims but then
sold their tobacco at Clay’s
Tobacco Warehouse, while
others had indemnity claims
filed in their names for crops
in which they had only par-
tial or no ownership, in or-'
der to hide the real owners.
These false claims resulted
in $900,000 in indemnity
payments, according to the
US Attorney’s Office in Lex-
ington.
Large Selection of Double
Sided, Pillow Top and
Pocketed Coil Mattress Sets.
photos courtesy of Jason
York
The Bath County Masonic
Lodge 55 recently presented
the NewHope Clinic in Ow-
ingsville with a $1000 do-
nation. Shown above is Bill
Grimes accepting the check
from Lodge Grand Master
Mike Gray.
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