A Tennessee man who defrauded Bunge North America by overpaying for agricultural commodities, was sentenced Thursday to 366 days in federal prison.
From 2009-2013, Coleman Carpenter, of Troy, overpaid farmers, producers and dealers for millions of bushels of corn, soybeans and other commodities, prosecutors have said. He then falsified documents to show that he had paid the Bunge-authorized price. Carpenter managed Bunge’s elevator in Hickman, Ky., at the time of the fraud.
Carpenter pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud in May, shortly before he was scheduled to go to trial. His plea agreement provides no motive, but prosecutors have accused him of receiving cash kickbacks.