Texas man helped NC thief steal 900 Charlotte-area cows, sell in other states, feds say
A Texas man was indicted on Wednesday for helping a North Carolina cattle thief steal 900 cows in the Charlotte area and selling them in Oklahoma and the Lone Star State, federal prosecutors wrote in court documents.
The cows were among 3,000 that William Dalton Edwards, a 25-year-old Mount Airy resident, admitted to stealing from livestock markets in the Charlotte area and Virginia, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Edwards “relied on his family’s good reputation in the cattle trading business” when he bought the cows, according to an indictment against him. Everyone accepted his checks, prosecutors said.
Edwards traded cattle in his own name, as a business called Diamond L. Feeders and as an order-buyer for companies operated by Clint Clifford Sicking, 40, of Muenster, Texas, according to court documents.
The men drove the cows to Oklahoma and Texas, where they sold them for $1.1 million, court records show.
All of the checks bounced, according to a July 16 indictment in U.S. District Court in Statesville that charged Edwards with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government — namely, the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
On Aug. 2, Edwards pleaded guilty to the charge and faces up to five years in prison, U.S. Attorney Dena King in Charlotte said in a news release. A sentencing date has not been set, King said.
On Aug. 21, a grand jury indicted Sicking, saying he caused at least $780,000 in losses to sales markets in North Carolina, King said in a follow-up news release on Wednesday.
Ripping off family-owned sales barns
Edwards and Sicking pulled off their barnyard theft scheme using the bum checks at family-owned livestock sales barns in Iredell and Cleveland counties, King said.
Iredell ranks No. 1 in the state for dairy cows on farms, with 10,000 head, according to the USDA North Carolina Regional Field Office in Raleigh. Cleveland and Catawba are tied for 10th with 600 milk cows.
Iredell and Cleveland rank a respective fifth and sixth in the state for the number of beef cows on farms — 11,200 in Iredell and 10,500 in Cleveland, according to the USDA.
The conspiracy also involved cows at a sales market in Stanly County, according to the bill of information.
Edwards and Sicking sold the cows before anyone realized the checks were bad, court documents show.
“Edwards and his co-conspirator wrote such checks knowing they were worthless, since there were insufficient funds to cover the checks and pay for the cattle,” King said.
The conspiracy stretched from April 2018 to October 2022, according to court documents.
“The sales barns — which are family-owned in North Carolina — incurred these losses because they are required to pay farmers and ranchers immediately after the sale of their livestock,” King said.
Sicking also was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States.
He also faces a charge of bank fraud, which carries up to 30 years in prison, one count of theft of livestock and two counts each of interstate transportation of stolen livestock and sale and receipt of stolen livestock. Each count carries a maximum five-year sentence.
Sicking was already barred from trading cattle, although court records don’t explain why. Because of his ban, he created companies in the names of unsuspecting family and friends so he could buy and sell cattle with Edwards, prosecutors said.
Edwards could not be reached by The Charlotte Observer.
His lawyer, William Scott Harkey of Winston-Salem, previously said he was prohibited by N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct from commenting on an active case. The case is active because Edwards hasn’t been sentenced, he said.
“We do have faith in the justice system,” Harkey said.
King thanked investigators from the Secret Service, IRS and U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Iredell and Cleveland county sheriff’s offices.
This story was originally published August 3, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Texas man helped NC thief steal 900 Charlotte-area cows, sell in other states, feds say."