North Charlotte Today

William Dalton Edwards, 25, of Mount Airy, N.C., pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy charge for his role in a $1 million scheme involving the theft of livestock, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Miles B. Davis, Special Agent in Charge, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA-OIG), Southeast Region; Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office; Donald “Trey” Eakins, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Charlotte Field Office; Sheriff Alan Norman of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; and Sheriff Darren Campbell of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office joined U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to plea documents and the plea hearing, from April 2018 to October 2022, Edwards conspired with another person to defraud livestock markets—also known as sales barns—in Iredell and Cleveland Counties, North Carolina; Texas; Oklahoma; and Virginia. The investigation determined that on multiple occasions during this period Edwards and his co-conspirator purchased cattle from sales barns in North Carolina and wrote checks knowing they were worthless due to insufficient funds.

Court records indicate that Edwards and his co-conspirator arranged to transport the cattle out-of-state before financial institutions could determine their checks were worthless. The stolen cattle were then resold in Texas and Oklahoma. Over the course of the scheme, Edwards and his co-conspirator fraudulently obtained more than 3,000 head of cattle and caused over $1 million in losses to sales barns in North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas. These sales barns—which are family-owned in North Carolina—incurred these losses because they are required to pay farmers and ranchers immediately after selling their livestock.

Edwards pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and violate its laws. One objective was to hamper and impede the Packers and Stockyard Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's regulation of fair livestock markets. Other objectives included obtaining funds under federally insured financial institutions' custody through false statements; stealing livestock valued at more than $10,000; and transporting stolen livestock interstate.

The statutory maximum for this offense is five years in prison plus any restitution or fines ordered by the court at sentencing. Edwards is released on bond pending a sentencing date yet to be set.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended USDA-OIG, U.S. Secret Service IRS-CI Cleveland County Sheriff's Office Iredell County Sheriff's Offices for their investigation into this case She also thanked Stanly County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E Savage US Attorney's Office Charlotte prosecuting case

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