WASHINGTON D.C. — A New Mexico farmer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing more than $225,000 from the federal government’s farm subsidies program that is operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to prosecutors.
In addition, Bill Melot, a farmer from Hobbs, N.M., was ordered to pay more than $18 million to the Internal Revenue Service.
Melot was previously convicted of tax evasion, federal officials said.
Melot was been convicted of failure to file tax returns, making false statements to the USDA and impeding the IRS following a four-day jury trial in Albuquerque, N.M.
According to evidence presented at trial and at sentencing, Melot has not filed a personal income tax return since 1986, and owes the IRS more than $25 million in federal taxes and more than $7 million in taxes to the state of Texas.
In addition, Melot furnished the Agricultural Department with false information to improperly collected more than $225,000 in federal farm subsidies, the evidence indicated.
Officials said Melot took numerous steps to conceal his ownership of 250 acres in Lea County, N.M., including notarizing forged deeds and titling the property in the name of nominees.
Also Melot maintained a bank account with Nordfinanz Zurich, a Swiss financial institution, which he set up in Nassau, Bahamas, in 1992, and failed to report the account to the U.S. Treasury Department as required by law.