Tyson Foods Sues Washington Ranching Family Over 200,000 Fake Cattle

Tyson Foods Inc. is suing a Washington ranching family over fake cattle, according to KOMO.

The company claims Easterday Ranches' family allegedly charged them for 200,000 cattle that never existed, reportedly costing them $225 million in losses.

A Tyson attorney said Easterday Ranches President Cody Easter admitted to the scheme, according to court documents obtained by Action News. Reports further allege the Washington company did it to cover more than $200 million in commodities trading losses.

"For years, Tyson Foods and the Easterdays had an agreement that Tyson would reimburse the Easterdays for the money spent purchasing and feeding the cattle on Easterday feedlots that were then provided to Tyson’s placing plant in Wallula," reporters learned.

Washington Trust Bank has also entered the lawsuit, claiming Easterday Ranches violated their loan agreement among other accusations. The Department of Agriculture is conducting an internal review, as well.

The lawsuit notes that Tyson Foods began noticing the discrepancies about three months ago.

Action News reached out to Tyson Foods for comment. The company said: "As we disclosed in December, this misappropriation of funds has cost Tyson more than $200 million which the company is working to recoup. We are working to implement additional financial controls to help prevent or detect this type of activity in the future."

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