Agricultural News
Beef Board CEO Angered Over Embezzlement of Oklahoma Beef Checkoff Money- Hopes Courts Provide Pathway to Restitution
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 20:27:12 CST
On Thursday, the Oklahoma Beef Council has announced more details of possible embezzlement by the former Director of Accounting and Compliance Melissa Morton over an eight year period, with a forensic analysis showing the theft of $2.6 million dollars in that timespan. In response to that information, the Executive Director of the Cattlemen's Beef Board, Polly Ruhland offered the following reaction to Radio Oklahoma Farm Director Ron Hays in an email on Thursday afternoon:
"Frankly, I am dismayed and angered that the former Director of Accounting and Compliance at the Oklahoma Beef Council appears to have taken advantage of the trust placed in her by the OBC board of directors. Unfortunately, embezzlement can and does occur in both for-profit and non-profit business environments, and when it happens, it most frequently involves a clever individual's flagrant abuse of a significant level of trust and responsibility placed in him or her by an organization.
"I am not aware of another incident similar to this in the checkoff's history, and I remain extremely confident in the audit and oversight systems of USDA, the Cattlemen's Beef Board, and the beef checkoff program. I understand that when inconsistencies were discovered, the Oklahoma Beef Council board of directors took swift and appropriate action, and has been fully assisting state and federal authorities.
"I also trust the competence of the federal investigative and criminal processes that are at work in Oklahoma in this case, and sincerely hope that if an individual is proved to have wronged the Oklahoma Beef Council, and the farmers and ranchers of Oklahoma, that individual is brought to justice, and appropriate restitution is made."
Earlier statements from the Oklahoma Beef Council and the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association can be read by clicking or tapping here.
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