Cattle Broker Sentenced to Prison for Wire Fraud, Ordered to Pay $2.1 Million in Restitution

MACON, Ga. - A Georgia cattle broker was sentenced to prison and was ordered to pay millions in restitution after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a scheme defrauding an investor of $2.1 million.

Collis Robert Todd, aka C. Robert Todd, aka Collis Todd, aka Robert Todd, aka Robert C. Todd, 65, of Jesup, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 33 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on Wednesday, Sept. 29, after previously pleading guilty to wire fraud. In addition, Todd was ordered to pay $2,137,000 in restitution to the victim. There is no parole in the federal system.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office will always seek to hold investment predators accountable for their criminal actions, " said Acting U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. "The FBI and our law enforcement partners are doing everything in our power to protect individuals and businesses from fraud and harm."

"Todd is paying the price for deceiving an investor into believing his money would make legitimate profits instead of going directly into Todd's pockets," said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "It is a warning to investors to be very careful where they entrust their money and a warning to investment predators that the FBI is committed to uncovering fraud no matter how clever they think their schemes are."

Todd worked as a cattle and corn broker from 2008 through 2017. During that time, Todd entered into an agreement with an investor who supplied the money used to execute deals negotiated and conducted by Todd. The general understanding was that profits would be split evenly. Todd did not invest the money as promised in certain deals, instead using it for his own purposes. Todd sometimes sent money back to the investor representing the amount to be profit, which was not true. This was done to disguise Todd's theft and to keep the investor investing in current and future deals. Todd's deceit continued when he made a phone call on Nov. 6, 2016, to the investor's business manager, claiming he would sell cows and calves he previously purchased on behalf of the investor, with the investor's money, as part of the "Big Cow" deal and transmit the proceeds to the investor. In fact, the cows and calves did not exist. The investor lost $2,137,000 in the scheme.

The case was investigated by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul McCommon prosecuted the case.