"Iowa farmer sentenced to over 15 years for theft and fraud,"

Michael Wayne Butikofer, age 54, from Monona, Iowa, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2023, to one count of theft of livestock, one count of wire fraud, and one count of false bankruptcy declaration. Butikofer, a Clayton County farmer, stole over $5 million in livestock and COVID-19 pandemic benefits and was sentenced on Oct. 10, 2024, to more than 15 years in federal prison...

Butikofer and Fawn Hollow were never registered with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a “dealer” under the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act) of 1921. Butikofer participated in the H-2A visa program and recruited agricultural workers from the Republic of South Africa to work at Fawn Hollow.,,

In 2018, Butikofer used forced labor and abused Fawn Hollow workers, according to court documents. H2-A workers living on the farm had no hot water or furniture, and their water was contaminated. He also dumped dead cattle near the house where they lived. Butikofer is accused of assaulting one worker by grabbing the worker’s shirt and pushing him toward a corn auger. He tied the hands of another South African H-2A worker with a cable tie to an electric jigsaw and threatened workers with hanging and an electric shock dog collar, court documents state. In 2020, three migrant workers obtained a $247,000 civil judgment against Butikofer in federal court for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Trafficking Victims Protective Reauthorization Act. Butikofer later used his fraudulent bankruptcy proceeding to convince the workers to settle their judgment for $75,000.

From April 2023 to November 2023, while on federal pretrial release, Butikofer recruited and caused another person from Fawn Hollow to recruit H-2A workers to the United States under fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises... One example is Butikofer convincing an H2-A worker from South Africa to come to the United States with his wife and daughter. Upon arrival, Butikofer housed the family in a camper without water, electricity or heat. Eventually, US Department of Homeland Security agents rescued the family and paid for their food and shelter at a hotel in Cedar Rapids. Agents later rescued other workers bound for Fawn Hollow in April 2024, according to court documents...