FBI arrests fugitive accused in $220M cattle fraud scheme
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LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities have arrested a Missouri man wanted in connection with a $220 million cattle fraud scheme across several states.
Joshua Robert Link was taken into custody on Monday at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the FBI. The arrest was carried out by officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, LAX Airport Police, and FBI Task Force Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Link was the only defendant still at large after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced last month that five people had been indicted on federal fraud and money-laundering charges. Prosecutors say the group engineered a nationwide scheme built around purported cattle purchase contracts.
According to the indictment, Link and co-defendants Jed Wood, Tia Link, Taylor Bang, and Royana Thomas founded Agridime, LLC and solicited funds from cattle buyers, ranchers, and feedlots.
They allegedly promised investors that their money would be used to purchase and raise specific cattle before selling the meat for profit.
Instead, prosecutors allege the group used new investor money to pay earlier investors while also covering company expenses, personal spending, and real estate acquisitions. The scheme is accused of generating more than $220 million between January 2021 and December 2023.
“Thousands of unwitting investors, ranchers, and others in the cattle industry nationwide were drawn in and victimized by the defendants’ multi-million-dollar scheme alleged in this indictment,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in a statement. “My office, in concert with our law enforcement partners, will hold these defendants accountable and pursue justice on behalf of the victims.”
Link is expected to be transferred to Texas to face federal charges.