Cave City Farmer Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison
Field of tobacco growing in Metcalfe County. Photo courtesy of Flickr.com-courthouselover
Other regional farmers found guilty in crop insurance fraud scheme and ordered to repay millions
By A JobeNews Regional Report
A Cave City farmer has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for his role in a long-running crop insurance fraud scheme that cost insurers nearly $10 million.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky reported that Larry Walden, 69, received a 52-month prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering through crop insurance fraud.
According to court records, the scheme operated from 2014 through 2023 and involved multiple tobacco warehouses across Kentucky and North Carolina. Walden owned and rented farmland in Barren County, where he grew burley tobacco and other crops. He maintained insurance coverage on his tobacco crop throughout the fraud period.
Investigators said Walden worked with Thomas Kirkpatrick, manager of Farmers Tobacco Warehouse in Boyle County, to create false documentation supporting fraudulent insurance claims. Walden wrote checks to the warehouse to make it appear he had purchased tobacco that he had actually grown and sold himself.
Court records show Walden presented copies of canceled checks along with fake purchase receipts to his insurance adjuster. The adjuster relied on the paperwork to justify lowering Walden’s reported production, which increased his insurance payouts.
Prosecutors said Walden used the fraudulent proceeds to pay off credit lines and purchase new assets. He also carried out similar schemes through Greensburg Tobacco Market and Fair Deal Tobacco in Greensburg, Kentucky, and Littleton, North Carolina. Walden further sold tobacco under the names of neighbors and relatives without reporting that production on his insurance claims.
Under federal law, Walden must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence and will face three years of supervised release following his incarceration. He was also ordered to pay $9,960,817.19 in restitution.
Walden was one of eight defendants sentenced in connection with the conspiracy.
Thomas Kirkpatrick, 67, of Stanford, received 48 months in prison and was ordered to pay $16,156,345 in restitution.
David Hunt, 63, of Campbellsville, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay $5,427,365 in restitution.
Terry Wilson, 67, of Edmonton, received time served plus three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $667,679 in restitution.
Christopher Wilson, 50, of Edmonton, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $669,447 in restitution.
David Wisdom, 69, of Glasgow, received 48 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,941,007 in restitution.
Robert D. Birge Jr., 51, of Summer Shade, was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay $1,114,519 in restitution.
Harlan Ray Highfield, 63, of Brooksville, received 42 months in prison and was ordered to pay $1,060,460 in restitution for a separate crop insurance fraud scheme involving policies held in nominee names.
First Assistant United States Attorney Paul McCaffrey said the defendants exploited programs intended to protect agricultural producers and that the sentences should serve as a warning to others considering similar fraud.
FBI Louisville Field Office Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson said the case demonstrates long-term cooperation among law enforcement agencies to protect honest farmers and public programs.
