Jun 8, 2001 - A crop insurance agent, John Keister, agreed to a voluntary exclusion from participating in the Federal crop insurance program for a period of two years, and agreed to pay the Federal Government $115,000 to settle claims by the Government that he was involved in a scheme to illegally shift grain drying charges to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.

The Federal agencies, including the Risk Management Agency, USDA's Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota and the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Iowa were involved in the six-year investigation of numerous individuals, insurance companies,and grain elevators that the Government alleged were involved in this scheme. The Government has collected a total of $1.8 million in settlement of these allegations from these defendants.