A Two Thousand Dollar Nebraska Land Purchase Leads to a Federal Fraud Case
“You are on my side of the ditch, Robert,” I said.
He took a step back, his leather dress shoes slipping slightly on the frost-covered grass.
“I wanted to speak with you before I drove back to Lincoln,” Robert said.
I stood by the weathered pine post, my hand resting on the cold barbed wire.
“My clients are going to enter a guilty plea next week,” Robert said. “The federal prosecutor is offering a plea agreement.”
“That is between them and the government,” I said.
“The prosecutor wants you to testify at the sentencing hearing,” Robert said. “They want you to stand up in front of the judge and ask for the maximum eight years.”
I looked out over my two hundred acres, the black soil waiting for the spring disk.
“Why would they need me for that?” I asked.
“Your testimony about the forged consent form is the core of their case,” Robert said. “If you ask for the maximum, the judge will likely give it to them. They want to show that the local community was severely impacted by the fraud.”
