25-year-old William Dalton Edwards has just pled guilty in a Charlotte federal court to conspiring to use bad checks to steal 3,000 cattle.
From April 2018 to October 2022, Edwards conspired with another individual to defraud sales barns in Iredell and Cleveland Counties, as well as in Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia, according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office. Court documents reveal that Edwards and his co-conspirator purchased cattle using worthless checks, knowing there were insufficient funds to cover the payments.
Edwards and his co-conspirator arranged to transport the cattle out-of-state before the sales barns and financial institutions discovered the bad checks. They then resold the stolen cattle in Texas and Oklahoma. This scheme resulted in the fraudulent acquisition of over 3,000 cattle and caused more than $1 million in losses to sales barns, particularly impacting family-owned businesses in North Carolina.
Edwards pled guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and violating federal laws. The conspiracy aimed to impede the Packers and Stockyard Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, obtain funds through false statements, and transport stolen livestock across state lines.
Edwards has just been released on bond and could face up to 5 years in prison when he returns for sentencing.
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