Information on the Agridime Receivership



Last Revision: March 22, 2024

On December 11, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a temporary restraining order, asset freeze, the appointment of a receiver, and other emergency relief against Agridime LLC, Josh Link, and Jed Wood (collectively, the “Defendants” or “Receivership Defendants”) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division. The SEC’s complaint, which was unsealed on December 13, 2023, alleges that the Defendants have raised at least $191 million from more than 2,100 investors in at least 15 states by offering and selling investments related to the supposed purchase and sale of cattle. However, as alleged in the complaint, the Defendants did not purchase nearly enough cattle or generate sufficient revenues from cattle operations to deliver the promised returns. Instead, the complaint alleges that, since December 2022, the Defendants have used at least $58 million of new investor funds to make Ponzi payments to prior investors and more than $11 million to pay undisclosed sales commissions to Wood, Link, Link’s wife, and other Agridime sales representatives.

The Court presiding over the case found that the appointment of a receiver is necessary and appropriate for the purposes of marshaling and preserving all assets of the Receivership Defendants, and accordingly entered an Order Appointing Receiver on December 11, 2023. A copy of the Order Appointing Receiver is available here. A copy of the SEC’s complaint is available here.

The Court has scheduled a hearing for January 9, 2024, on the SEC’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

The Receivership Order appointed Mr. Steve Fahey as Receiver over all assets of the Receivership Defendants. As Receiver, Mr. Fahey works as an agent of the Court. He does not represent the SEC or any other party, but instead has been ordered to marshal and preserve all assets of the Receivership Defendants.  He will be seeking information about and from all affected investors and creditors, providing updates about the progress of the SEC’s suit, and updating this webpage concerning the progress of his investigation.

You may email Mr. Fahey at steve.fahey@kirkland.com. Alternatively, you may leave a message for him at 972-571-1340, and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

UPDATES:

January 8, 2024

• On Friday, January 5, 2024, U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman held a preliminary injunction hearing at the courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas. SEC trial counsel, the receiver, and Jed Wood’s counsel were in attendance; Josh Link was not present and he did not have counsel at the hearing on his behalf. Judge Pittman indicated that he intended to enter the preliminary injunction against Wood, Link, and Agridime LLC in a written order that will be entered by January 9, 2024. When the order is issued, it will be linked to on this page.

• In light of the SEC’s suit and Agridime’s receivership, many investors have asked how their cattle contract investments should be treated for federal tax purposes. While the receiver cannot give tax advice, all investors are encouraged to consult a tax professional regarding this matter and how their investment should be treated on their 2023 taxes and going forward. Given that the SEC’s complaint alleges that this matter involved a Ponzi scheme, please be aware that the IRS publishes guidance for impacted taxpayers and tax professionals that may be applicable as this matter moves forward – this guidance can be found at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/help-for-victims-of-ponzi-investment-schemes. 

January 23, 2024

• Based on findings made at a hearing on January 5, 2024, U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman entered a preliminary injunction against Jed Wood, Josh Link, and Agridime LLC (written order is here). This order essentially continues for the pendency of the SEC case and holds in place the injunctive relief and asset freeze ordered in the Court’s initial Temporary Restraining Order. There are no court hearings currently scheduled. Future hearing dates will be posted on the website whenever they are scheduled.

• The receivership is continuing its efforts to identify, maintain, and protect the company’s assets. These assets fall into roughly four groups: the company-owned cattle, the inventory of meat, company real estate, and company equipment. 

• With regard to the cattle and meat, we have found Agridime’s records to be, at a minimum, outdated and inaccurate. Our understanding is that Agridime currently owns approximately 8,000 head of cattle. The cattle are spread across 18 different locations throughout the Midwest which has made it challenging to determine the exact number of cattle owned by Agridime. We believe that Agridime’s inventory of meat is the company’s single most valuable asset, and we are working to get a reliable valuation of that inventory. We are continuing to operate the company’s wholesale and retail meat sales business. Wholesale meat sales have been strong, but retail sales of meat have been negatively impacted by the revelations regarding Agridime’s operations. We are actively working to increase both wholesale and retail sales. 

• Many of you have reached out and provided copies of your cattle contracts and contact information since hearing the news of the court case. Agridime has good internal records of all the cattle contracts, and we are preparing a summary of what is owed to each investor. In an effort to expand our contact information for investors (we only have email addresses readily available), we are opening a web portal for investors here to register their contact and contract information with the receivership. A few notes on this: a) there is no deadline to register at this time; b) investors do not need to answer every question, but providing contact information that could be used as an alternative to email is appreciated; c) we are compiling a complete list of investors’ emails so we can notify all investors of this site, including those that are not aware of this webpage; and d) when we have finalized a preliminary report of what is owed to each investor on pending cattle contracts, we will utilize this information to contact investors and ask them to verify our records against their information.

February 27, 2024

• On February 23, 2024, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman issued an order in the SEC v. Agridime LLC, et al. case requiring attorneys for the parties to meet “as soon as practicable” to conduct an in-person scheduling conference “to (1) consider the nature and bases for their claims and defenses, (2) assess the possibilities for a prompt resolution of the case, (3) make or arrange for the disclosures required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1), and (4) prepare the joint [scheduling] report” that is due to the Court by March 8, 2024. The mandatory joint report will contain a lot of information for the Court’s consideration, including:
• (1) A statement detailing the date on which the Scheduling Conference was held, the location of the Scheduling Conference, the names of the attorneys present, a statement on whether meaningful progress toward settlement was made, and a statement on the prospect of settlement—without disclosing settlement figures;
• (2) A brief statement of the claims and defenses;
• (3) A proposed time limit to amend pleadings and join parties;
• (4) A proposed time limit for dispositive motions (e.g., summary judgment);
• (5) A proposed time limit for initial designation of experts and responsive designation of experts;
• (6) A proposed time limit for objections to experts (e.g., Daubert and similar motions);
• (7) A proposed plan and schedule for discovery, a statement of the subjects on which discovery may be needed, a time limit for completing factual and expert discovery, and a statement of whether discovery should be conducted in phases;
• (8) A statement on whether any limitations on discovery need to be imposed, and if so, what limitations;
• (9) A statement on how to disclose and conduct discovery on electronically-stored information (“ESI”) and any statement on disputes over disclosure and discovery of ESI;
• (10) Any proposals on handling and protection of privileged or trial-preparation material that should be reflected in a Court Order;
• (11) A proposed trial date, the estimated number of days for trial, and whether a jury has been demanded;
• (12) A proposed mediation deadline;
• (13) A statement on when and how disclosures under FED. R. CIV. P. 26(1) were made or will be made;
• (14) A statement on whether the parties will consent to a trial (jury or bench) before a United States Magistrate Judge;
• (15) Whether a conference with the Court is desired, and if so, a brief explanation why; and
• (16) Any other proposals on scheduling and discovery that the parties believe will facilitate expeditious and orderly preparation for trial and other orders that the Court should enter under FED. R. CIV. P. 16(b), 16(c), and 26(c).
• There are no court hearings currently scheduled in the SEC v. Agridime case.
• For purposes of restarting internet retail meat sales, Agridime has changed its name to American Grazed Beef and a new website (www.americangrazedbeef.com) is now “live” and taking meat orders.Agridime’s retail meat sales had to be halted when credit card companies no longer wanted to work with Agridime due to the federal court case, which caused a six-week hiatus in our retail operations as we worked to put a new organization and website in place.The company’s employees greatly appreciate the messages of support and encouragement received from loyal customers as the new retail operation was stood up.The key feature of the new website and sales operation will continue to be the top-notch farm-to-table beef products sourced from the company’s cattle being raised at two farms in Kansas – Morgan Creek Farms and Goracke Farms.
• The investigation continues into Agridime’s business activities (including a forensic accounting investigation of the company’s financial records) and the identification and realization of company assets continues.With regard to the cattle and meat assets, since the last update we have revised the count of cattle owned by Agridime down to approximately 6,500.We currently estimate that Agridime’s inventory of meat is the company’s single most valuable asset at approximately $15-20 million. Wholesale meat sales continue to be strong, and, as noted above, retail meat sales have restarted on the American Grazed Beef website. We will continue to actively work to increase both wholesale and retail sales.

March 22, 2024

• Some investors have asked if it would be possible for the Receivership to provide a letter regarding the Agridime matter that could be given to their tax attorneys and/or accountants for use in preparing 2023 tax returns. After consultation with the tax professionals assisting the Receivership, we have prepared the following letter, https://irp.cdn-website.com/1777a853/files/uploaded/Agridime_letter_Ponzi_tax_treatment.pdf. As our investigation advances, what we can say on this matter likely will change, and we may update this letter accordingly.