Nebraska trader, James Clayton Wolf, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, was sentenced to three years in a Federal prison on Monday, December 18th by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Wolf sold in excess of $45 million in spurious non-GMO corn and soybeans as certified organic. In addition to the sentence, Wolf was obliged to forfeit property and other assets valued at $20 million. Adam Clifford Olson, a nephew of Wolf, was sentenced to time served and supervised release for two years with restitution of $70,000 as a participant in the scheme.
The fact that the misrepresentation could proceed for a prolonged period suggests deficiencies in the system of audits based on documentation and the unwarranted trust placed on pieces of paper. Apparently there was no testing of the commodities handled by Wolf or any other supplier to ascertain GMO-free status. In addition auditors failed to reconcile the magnitude of sales with his supply farms.
Since there was no adverse effect among livestock fed GMO ingredients or among consumers of their products one might question the real-world value of the twofold differential in price between certified organic and conventional ingredients. By extension the USDA Certified Organic program appears to be based on a series of onerous and unnecessary requirements lacking in scientific justification to market food products devoid of quantifiable advantages and appealing to an affluent and misinformed mindset.
Since there is no mandatory testing of commodities for pesticide residues or GM status the large differential in price from conventional products will encourage deception and falsification of documentation, especially with imported ingredients. Wolf was not the first and will certainly not be the last scammer to perpetrate fraud over organic certification.