Mount Airy man pleads guilty to conspiracy after alleged $1M cattle theft scheme: DOJ

CHARLOTTE ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — A Mount Airy man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy following a supposed multi-state cattle theft scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Dena J. King.

William Dalton Edwards, 25, is accused of conspiring with another person to steal from livestock markets and sale barns in Iredell County, Cleveland County, Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia between April 2018 and October 2022.

Authorities say Edwards and his coconspirator knowingly wrote false checks as payment for cattle. The livestock would then be taken out of state to sell in Texas and Oklahoma.

According to court documents, the pair fraudulently bought and sold over 3,000 animals, causing $1 million in financial losses to the sales barns in North Carolina, Virginia and Texas.

Despite the supposed fraud, the family-owned livestock markets in North Carolina still had to pay the farmers and ranchers.

On Friday, August 2, Edwards pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate the laws of the U.S. Officials say these activities hampered and impeded the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ability to regulate fair livestock markets.

The minimum sentence for this offense is five years in prison plus any restitution a judge would order. Edwards is currently on bond, and a sentencing date has yet to be set.

The USDA Office of Inspector General, the Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and Cleveland and Iredell County Sheriff’s Offices were all part of the investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.