Couple Gets 7-Year Prison Term For Ranch Fraud

DENVER (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Texas couple to seven years in prison after they took $1.5 million from ranchers in Colorado and six other states in a fraud scheme and then bought a boat to sail to the Bahamas.

District Judge Philip Brimmer also sentenced Donald Winberg and his wife, Karlien, to three years of supervised release following prison.

The Winbergs pleaded guilty to fraud charges for selling thousands of tons of alfalfa hay and corn they didn't have to farmers across the West. They claimed to own vast amounts of farmland.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, both defendants were ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution.

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