House Speaker Davy Carter
distributed a letter Friday that reflected a report I’d received earlier in the day of a brewing financial scandal in the Delta.

Carter’s letter refers to breached contacts between farmers and a commodity broker and said tens of millions could be at issue. He said it could be a subject for future regulatory efforts.

Advertisement

Intriguing, to put it mildly. I’m out of pocket in upstate New York but I can add this scrap of information on what’s going on from a reliable source.

The case focuses on a grain broker who’d “book” grain for farmers. They’d accept his promised price and he’d pay them, taking a commission from the sale. But this particular broker may have been running something akin to a Ponzi scheme — or at a minimum unable to cover contract commitments. Losses are said to be as high as $40 million. Losses to individual farmers could be huge. 

Advertisement

Lots more to come on this obviously.

Help to Keep Great Journalism Alive in Arkansas

Join the fight for truth and become a subscriber of the Arkansas Times. We've been battling powerful forces for 50 years through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing and supporting our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage. Together, we can continue to hold the powerful accountable and bring important stories to light. Subscribe now or donate for as little as $1 and be a part of the Arkansas Times community.

Previous article Uber-Lyft back on Little Rock City Board calendar Next article Beebe: minority of legislature won’t run over majority to block private option in 2015