A former farmer from Shell Rock has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for lying to a bank to secure a $1million farm operating loan, according to KIMT. 41 year old Mashon Van Mill pleaded guilty in October to Making a False Statement to a Financial Institution. He applied for a $1million farm operating line of credit and claimed to own more than $2million worth of corn in storage to use as collateral. A bank employee grew suspicious and sent a letter to the owner of the grain elevator where Van Mill claimed to be storing the corn. The bank received a response with a signature supposedly confirming Van Mill had corn in storage there. When law enforcement showed the confirmation letter to the owner he said he had never seen that letter, nor the initial letter, and had not signed anything because Van Mill had no corn in storage. Van Mill ultimately defaulted on several loans. In addition to his prison term, he has been ordered to pay back nearly $900,000 in restitution, of which about $260,000 has been paid through the sale of various pieces of property and wage garnishments. Van Mill was released on bond and must surrender to US Marshals on April 27th.
