Tweet Post to Your Wall.

Fraudulent USDA Letters Have So Far Been Received in Four States

USDA officials are warning farmers about fraudulent letters that are being sent to individuals and businesses. Representatives of the USDA learned late Friday afternoon that fraudulent letters had been sent by fax to individuals in four states.

Chief Administrative Officer of the Nebraska Farm Service Agency Mike Sanders says it is important that farmers not respond to the letters.

"We received notification from our national office that there was a person or entity that was representing themselves as USDA," Sanders said. "They were sending out fax messages to various producers in a four-state area trying to obtain financial information from the producers."

"From a cursory review it appeared to be a fictitious memo and request for information," Sanders said. "We are forwarding those requests that we have received to our office of general counsel and office of Inspector General for follow up."

The letters bear USDA's logo and seal and are signed by an individual identified as Frank Rutenberg using a title of Senior Procurement Officer. Sanders says the letter is asking the individual for financial information.

"There is a cover memo that is titled authorization to release financial information where basically it's a blank form where the producer is to record their business name and what they're doing business as," Sanders said. "And they're asking for bank names, branches, and account numbers and and tax IDs."