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Hey you guys remember that time I did a long, very specific thread about crop insurance fraud in North Carolina? https://twitter.com/SarahTaber_bww/status/1278862722512424963
. @CBennett71 details how federal agents busted a record-breaking $100M crop insurance fraud ring right here in my region. https://www.agweb.com/article/evil-grain-wild-tale-historys-biggest-crop-insurance-scam?utm_source=AEI+Forecast+Network&utm_campaign=2fd64d8567-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_12_13_01_17_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fdede6b59c-2fd64d8567-451363789
Crop insurance fraud isn't very sexy, but let me put it this way:
It's at least $100M that went straight to entrenched landowners, without them ever having to lift a finger to provide real jobs or economic development.
It's at least $100M that went straight to entrenched landowners, without them ever having to lift a finger to provide real jobs or economic development.
Eastern North Carolina is one of the poorest parts of the US.
Folks chalk it up to "that's because it's neglected farm country" and that's horseshit.
It's because we're run by organized crime.
Folks chalk it up to "that's because it's neglected farm country" and that's horseshit.
It's because we're run by organized crime.
This is the same region that's been home to one of the US's largest frauds and low-key human trafficking rings preying on farm workers.
This is another crime ring run for the benefit of entrenched landowners. They get cheap labor. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/the-coyote
This is another crime ring run for the benefit of entrenched landowners. They get cheap labor. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/the-coyote
This is the same region that brought us the most egregious election fraud in recent history: stealing/forging mail-in ballots in Bladen Co, NC in the NC-09 congressional election.
What I can piece together from local sources is ballot fraud had been going on for years in local Bladen Co elections, starting shortly after the Tar Heel pork plant workers unionized in 2008.
The Tar Heel plant is the world's largest slaughterhouse.
Nearly half of Bladen's population works in the pork industry.
and it kind of sounds like the plant really wanted to make sure they had a friend in the sheriff's office, you know?
Nearly half of Bladen's population works in the pork industry.
and it kind of sounds like the plant really wanted to make sure they had a friend in the sheriff's office, you know?
Control over local law enforcement doesn't just benefit the plant. It helps farmers avoid labor problems.
"Farmers vs big agbiz" is smoke & mirrors. They both want the same thing: scared workers, trigger-happy sheriffs, & 911 hanging up on farmworkers. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/migrant-workers-stranded-hurricane-florence
"Farmers vs big agbiz" is smoke & mirrors. They both want the same thing: scared workers, trigger-happy sheriffs, & 911 hanging up on farmworkers. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/migrant-workers-stranded-hurricane-florence
Just a little something to think about next time you hear people talk about farm country as "bonds forged over generations" and "traditional" and "agribusiness is THE reason they're poor."
We're poor because we're run by organized crime & farmers are part of the cartel.
We're poor because we're run by organized crime & farmers are part of the cartel.
attn True Crime Podcast Community
someone do a series on this shit, you'll be set for life
someone do a series on this shit, you'll be set for life
Investigators in the crop insurance fraud cause keep mentioning throughout the article that they could only prosecute maybe 1/10th of the total fraud that had happened. So we're looking at maybe up to $1B worth of fraud.
So here's my question. Where'd all that money go?
So here's my question. Where'd all that money go?
Roughly half a million to $1B worth of payouts funnel into a broken-down, poverty-stricken rural area over the course of about ten years.
And it's still as broke-down & poverty-struck as it ever was.
That money all went somewhere.
WHERE??
And it's still as broke-down & poverty-struck as it ever was.
That money all went somewhere.
WHERE??
This is also why I don't fuck with the "absentee landlords" excuse for why rural areas are poor.
The folks doing this were 100% local.
There's no geomancy that makes good ol' boys "good" or "stop being useless frauds" when they're close by.
The folks doing this were 100% local.
There's no geomancy that makes good ol' boys "good" or "stop being useless frauds" when they're close by.
"But #NotAllFarmers"
Listen. If you actually gaf about farmers, then you want accountability for fraud.
That only happens when we stop treating farming as a moral Disneyland, & take it seriously when ppl who live in rural areas tell you "This place is full of organized crime."
Listen. If you actually gaf about farmers, then you want accountability for fraud.
That only happens when we stop treating farming as a moral Disneyland, & take it seriously when ppl who live in rural areas tell you "This place is full of organized crime."
The only thing wringing your hands about #notallfarmers really does is maintain the illusion that farm country is nice & respectable.
If you actually give a shit, raise the alarm. Agitate for prosecution of crop fraud. Stop providing moral cover for fraud.
If you actually give a shit, raise the alarm. Agitate for prosecution of crop fraud. Stop providing moral cover for fraud.
this article has everything
ahhh traditional family farming
ahhh traditional family farming
included without comment
Folks who think subsidies are "the reason for bad farming," let me to introduce you to something 100x worse: crop insurance fraud.
the entire concept of crop insurance is less "safety net" and more "giant incentive to farm badly on purpose, & monocrops are just the beginning."
the entire concept of crop insurance is less "safety net" and more "giant incentive to farm badly on purpose, & monocrops are just the beginning."
