A Braymer man charged with the alleged murder of two Wisconsin brothers has been indicted for a $215,000 cattle fraud scheme. A Federal Grand Jury handed down the indictment against 27-year-old Garland Joseph Nelson.
The indictment charges Nelson with one count of mail fraud for a scheme in which he allegedly shot and killed two men whom he had defrauded of $215,000 in a cattle contract. Nelson has been charged with two counts of murder in a separate state case that is scheduled for trial in June 2022.
According to the indictment, Nelson – an employee of J4s Farm Enterprises, Inc., a business started by his mother – agreed to care for cattle belonging to Diemel’s Livestock, LLC, located in Shawano County, Wisconsin.
The Diemels sent several loads of cattle to Nelson from November 2018 through April 2019. Nelson sold some loads of cattle and paid the Diemels. However, Nelson allegedly sold, traded, and/or killed many of the cattle without remitting the payments to the Diemels, while continuing to fraudulently bill the Diemels for feed and yardage for cattle that had been sold, traded, or had died.
Nelson, the indictment says, did not properly care for cattle due to incompetence, neglect, or maltreatment.
To deprive the Diemels of their cattle or their money and to prevent them from recovering either their cattle or their money, in June 2019 Nelson fraudulently sent the Diemels a bad check for $215,936 while the account had a balance of 21 cents. The check had been intentionally torn and damaged so that it could not be submitted for payment.
The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Nelson to forfeit to the government any property obtained from the proceeds of the alleged fraud scheme, including $215,936.
The charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
