Yep, cattle rustling has become a little more technical than the western days. Long are the days of literally roping the cattle from a herd. Fake identities, fake companies, and lots of bad checks.....this is the new cattle rustling.
According to the Associated Press, an East Texas Man from Athens, Texas, with a prolific record of stealing cattle, was convicted and sentenced to 99 years. It sounds like a harsh sentence doesn't it?
However the DA says the man used a fake identify and a fake company name to ship the cattle. Once the cattle was shipped, the seller didn't receive payment for the goods or if they did, the checks bounced.
Testimony revealed that the man had stolen over 2,000 head of cattle which was worth approximately $1 million in the past 5 years alone. The man had been convicted in the 90's for bank fraud, which involved banks, ranchers, and cattle (feedlot) owners.
I guess the jury figured that this man, who was known as a serial cattle rustler, needs to be behind bars a while.
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