Cody Allen Easterday was sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud that cost Tyson Foods over $117 million after partial repayment. According to court testimony, Easterday speculated unsuccessfully in cattle futures, losing vast sums of money that resulted in a scheme to over- invoice Tyson for approximately $233 million over a four-year period. According to his arrangement he purchased cattle with an advance from Tyson and rear and supply mature cattle. He padded invoices to reflect 260,000 “ghost” animals. Eventually, Tyson questioned the volume and cost involved and the scheme unraveled.
Easterday pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in 2021 and was forced to dispose of assets to partly reimburse Tyson Foods and another company that lost $11 million through the his fraud. Through greed and a gambling compulsion, Cody 
Easterday destroyed a multigenerational farming enterprise, with more than 22,000 acres under crops and with revenue of over $250 million, annually.
The outstanding question is why the audit procedures of Tyson Foods failed to detect a discrepancy of 260,000 cattle over a four-year period. Hopefully, controls have been strengthened to prevent a reoccurrence.