Five charged with cattle fraud

Attorney General Jay Nixon filed criminal charges against five mid-Missouri residents Friday, which accuses them of defrauding 11 farmers in Missouri and other states by promising to sell the farmers high-quality cattle for $1 million.

Instead, the five suspects, associated with M.J.L. Cattle Co., falsely advertised and delivered sickly cattle, according to Nixon.

“The quality of Missouri cattle is well-known, and our cattlemen have a reputation for being honest and trustworthy so much so that Missouri cattle are often bought based on photos or even verbal descriptions by the seller,” Nixon said. “We believe the defendants took advantage of that reputation to foist sickly animals on buyers who were promised and paid for premium livestock.”

The five being charged are Jason S. Hackman, who worked under Hackman Farms and faces seven counts of criminal consumer fraud in Howard County; Ben Leonard, who faces two counts of criminal consumer fraud in Howard County; Lance Neff, who faces two counts of criminal consumer fraud in Howard County; Peggy Murrow, who faces two counts of criminal consumer fraud in Howard County and eight counts of criminal consumer fraud in Cooper County; and Bob Simmons, who faces six counts of criminal consumer fraud in Howard County.