Former U.S. Attorney for South Dakota Ron Parsons
CREDIT: U.S. ATTORNEY FOR SD
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Timothy Burns, one of two men who defrauded investors in a proposed fish and hydroponic vegetables farm near Brookings. At oral arguments in October, the U.S. Attorney laid out a daring scheme that started in 2016.
At oral arguments, U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons says Timothy Burns hired two salesmen to pitch Global Aquaponics and South Dakota Food Security to potential backers.
And so the salesmen conducted “angel investor” meetings and relayed what they had been told: 5.6 million dollars had been raised, the land had been secured, and contracts had been signed with distributors to sell fish and produce.
“They told people, ‘We already own the land.’ They had a groundbreaking. The state Attorney General was there with a shovel. They didn’t even own the land. That was a lie”
When the salesmen grew suspicious and demanded documentation, Burns falsified an email, claiming there was one and a half million in cash on hand, more than 2 million paid toward the greenhouse structure, and almost 2 million paid for equipment. Burns wrote in the email that he was looking at a balance sheet while writing.
Parsons tells 8th Circuit judges that Burns testified at his trial that he knew he was lying when he wrote the email, because he didn’t know what the financial situation was. But he relied on information given to him by his co-conspirator.
“He says, ‘Well, I assumed that we did have this 5.6 million dollars.’ That was his testimony. He said, ‘I thought we had it.’ So he either knew they didn’t have it and created those lies to satisfy the investors and the salesmen, or he said, ‘I don’t wanna know if we have it or not, so I’m going to create these lies to satisfy the investors and the salesmen.’”
In its opinion, the 8th Circuit says the U.S. Attorney had more than enough evidence to convict Burns of wire fraud.
The 8th Circuit says Burns was Global Aquaponic’s Chief Operating Officer and general contractor. He managed day-to-day operations and had access to the accounts. At best, Burns knew facts existed and deliberately avoided learning them. At worst, he was a full partner in the fraud.