Mega Dairy Feds take it over.
quote:The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to take over management of a troubled Oregon mega-dairy, saying owner Greg te Velde?s continued drug use, gambling, out-of-control spending, and pending criminal charges make him unfit to run the facility.
The dairy, called Lost Valley Farm, is near Boardman. It supplies milk to the Tillamook County Creamery Association, which makes Tillamook Cheese.
The Justice Department is overseeing te Velde?s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which he filed April 26 to stall a bank foreclosure sale of his cattle.
Since then, te Velde admitted he continued to use methamphetamine and gamble at a California casino once or twice a week, U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis wrote in a July 13 motion. Davis asked a judge to either appoint a separate trustee to manage the dairy's finances and operations on behalf of creditors, or to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
Te Velde moved $665,000 into a newly opened personal checking account less than a month before he declared bankruptcy, and refuses to say where the money came from, all in violation of bankruptcy procedures, Davis wrote.
Under a court order, te Velde was allowed a salary of $2,500 per week, or $10,000 for the period from May 8 through June 2. Records show he took $38,420 from dairy accounts for personal expenses during that time.
Cows stand in manure at Lost Valley Farm on April 26, 2017. Brian Posewitz / Special to the Statesman Journal
?Debtor could not provide an explanation other than he had never had a personal bank account, that prior to filing Chapter 11 he withdrew whatever cash he needed and had his bookkeeper pay his expenses from the dairy accounts,? Davis wrote.
After filing for bankruptcy, te Velde took a $205,000 loan from a neighboring potato farmer, without telling the bankruptcy court, as required. Te Velde said the loan was necessary to purchase a liner for a manure pit, as required by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
And te Velde is facing criminal charges in California for meth possession and trying to bribe a police officer following an incident at the casino, Tachi Palace, in Lemoore, Calif., about three months ago, Davis wrote, citing sworn depositions given by te Velde in connection with the bankruptcy case.
?Debtor?s admitted conduct constitutes gross mismanagement,? she wrote. ?It is clearly in the best interests of the debtor?s estate and its creditors to take management control out of the hands of current management and appoint an independent trustee who will comply with the fiduciary duties mandated by the bankruptcy code.?
Reached on his mobile phone Thursday, te Velde declined to comment.
MORE: Troubled Lost Valley Farm dairy owner faces criminal contempt charge
Tillamook County Creamery Association spokeswoman Tori Harms did not respond to an interview request Thursday.
Lost Valley Farm has been plagued by problems since it opened in April 2017.
The dairy immediately began violating its wastewater permit, and continues to do so, the Oregon Department of Agriculture says.
ODA sued to shut down the dairy in February 2018, saying it was endangering nearby drinking water wells by repeatedly allowing liquid manure and wastewater to overflow storage lagoons.
In March, the state agreed to a stipulated judgment that allowed the dairy to continue operating in a limited capacity until it could prove that its wastewater treatment system was fully functional.
Lost Valley Farm, owned and operated by Greg te Velde,Buy Photo
Lost Valley Farm, owned and operated by Greg te Velde, near Boardman, Ore., on Sunday, March 18, 2018. (Photo: MOLLY J. SMITH / Statesman Journal)
Te Velde has not complied with any of the conditions of the settlement, ODA says. Earlier this month, the department asked a judge to impose criminal contempt of court charges against te Velde and issue remedial sanctions that would effectively shut down the dairy within 60 days.
Last month ODA also revoked the dairy?s wastewater permit, trying to shut it down. But te Velde has until Oct. 25 to comply, or longer if he files an appeal.
In a June 27 deposition, te Velde said he had stopped using meth around June 13 and instead was using a bottle of ?chill pills? he had been prescribed eight or 10 years ago and still had.
He said he is not currently under a doctor?s care for that treatment.
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2018/07/20/oregon-department-justice-drugs-gambling-uncontrolled-spending-feds-dairy-farm-lost-valley/803708002/
quote:Tillamook County Creamery Association, which makes Tillamook Cheese. Not good, its my favorite geese.
The dairy, called Lost Valley Farm, is near Boardman. It supplies milk to the Tillamook County Creamery Association, which makes Tillamook Cheese.
The Justice Department is overseeing te Velde?s Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which he filed April 26 to stall a bank foreclosure sale of his cattle.
Since then, te Velde admitted he continued to use methamphetamine and gamble at a California casino once or twice a week, U.S. Trustee Tracy Hope Davis wrote in a July 13 motion. Davis asked a judge to either appoint a separate trustee to manage the dairy's finances and operations on behalf of creditors, or to dismiss the bankruptcy case.
Te Velde moved $665,000 into a newly opened personal checking account less than a month before he declared bankruptcy, and refuses to say where the money came from, all in violation of bankruptcy procedures, Davis wrote.
Under a court order, te Velde was allowed a salary of $2,500 per week, or $10,000 for the period from May 8 through June 2. Records show he took $38,420 from dairy accounts for personal expenses during that time.
Cows stand in manure at Lost Valley Farm on April 26, 2017. Brian Posewitz / Special to the Statesman Journal
?Debtor could not provide an explanation other than he had never had a personal bank account, that prior to filing Chapter 11 he withdrew whatever cash he needed and had his bookkeeper pay his expenses from the dairy accounts,? Davis wrote.
After filing for bankruptcy, te Velde took a $205,000 loan from a neighboring potato farmer, without telling the bankruptcy court, as required. Te Velde said the loan was necessary to purchase a liner for a manure pit, as required by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
And te Velde is facing criminal charges in California for meth possession and trying to bribe a police officer following an incident at the casino, Tachi Palace, in Lemoore, Calif., about three months ago, Davis wrote, citing sworn depositions given by te Velde in connection with the bankruptcy case.
?Debtor?s admitted conduct constitutes gross mismanagement,? she wrote. ?It is clearly in the best interests of the debtor?s estate and its creditors to take management control out of the hands of current management and appoint an independent trustee who will comply with the fiduciary duties mandated by the bankruptcy code.?
Reached on his mobile phone Thursday, te Velde declined to comment.
MORE: Troubled Lost Valley Farm dairy owner faces criminal contempt charge
Tillamook County Creamery Association spokeswoman Tori Harms did not respond to an interview request Thursday.
Lost Valley Farm has been plagued by problems since it opened in April 2017.
The dairy immediately began violating its wastewater permit, and continues to do so, the Oregon Department of Agriculture says.
ODA sued to shut down the dairy in February 2018, saying it was endangering nearby drinking water wells by repeatedly allowing liquid manure and wastewater to overflow storage lagoons.
In March, the state agreed to a stipulated judgment that allowed the dairy to continue operating in a limited capacity until it could prove that its wastewater treatment system was fully functional.
Lost Valley Farm, owned and operated by Greg te Velde,Buy Photo
Lost Valley Farm, owned and operated by Greg te Velde, near Boardman, Ore., on Sunday, March 18, 2018. (Photo: MOLLY J. SMITH / Statesman Journal)
Te Velde has not complied with any of the conditions of the settlement, ODA says. Earlier this month, the department asked a judge to impose criminal contempt of court charges against te Velde and issue remedial sanctions that would effectively shut down the dairy within 60 days.
Last month ODA also revoked the dairy?s wastewater permit, trying to shut it down. But te Velde has until Oct. 25 to comply, or longer if he files an appeal.
In a June 27 deposition, te Velde said he had stopped using meth around June 13 and instead was using a bottle of ?chill pills? he had been prescribed eight or 10 years ago and still had.
He said he is not currently under a doctor?s care for that treatment.
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2018/07/20/oregon-department-justice-drugs-gambling-uncontrolled-spending-feds-dairy-farm-lost-valley/803708002/
quote:Tillamook County Creamery Association, which makes Tillamook Cheese. Not good, its my favorite geese.
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How Rabobank loaned him the money without permits and everything else is embarrassing. They are bigger idiots than the bankrupt meth head owner. 0 -
The U.S. Government took the Mustang Ranch in 1999. I lived near there in the early 1980"s. It was an expensive place to get a beer.[:)]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_Ranch0 -
If the guy owed me money, I'd damn sure want someone else managing the assets. 0 -
Dude sounds like a real piece of work. 0
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