Ronan man sells bogus cattle

BY MICHELLE LOVATO

Lake County Leader

Several businessmen want Andrew Jackson of Ronan to pay his bill for their bulls — and cows and other various items he promised to produce over the past few years.

Jackson will appear before Lake County District Court Judge Deborah Kim Christopher July 30 for sentencing after pleading guilty to felony deceptive business practices at the end of June.

Jackson, 29, earned a felony charge after Brad Weider and his partner spent $201,000 under the agreement that they purchase 120 pairs of cows, three bulls and favorable grazing land for the herd to wander, according to Lake County court documents.

Weider and his partner learned that Jackson was never bonded or licensed as a livestock broker.

Though the businessmen never saw the livestock they purchased, Jackson told them that another third-party businessman wanted to buy their livestock.

Authorities later learned that the livestock, the grazing land and the third-party buyer were all phony. Jackson was charged in February with felony deceptive business practices. He pleaded guilty in June and will be sentenced July 30.

But this felony charge marks the most recent admission from Jackson of cattle-related deception. Jackson has Lake County Court records going back to 2012.

On April 6, 2012, Jackson wrote a check on a closed Ronan Community Bank account to Callahan Belling of Richland, Mont. When Belling realized the check was fraudulent, he notified authorities.  Jackson agreed to pay back the money he owed to Belling, but after he got about $6,000 paid back, Jackson discontinued making payment, court records said.

Authorities charged Jackson with felony issuing a bad check and he pleaded guilty, court records said.

In May, Jackson was sentenced to three years in prison, plus restitution of $11,980 and additional court fees. Montana Land Contractors filed a civil case against Jackson on Oct. 15, 2014. Attorneys for the land company allege that it loaned Jackson $21,000 the previous spring. The loan was secured by 2003 and 2006 trucks. When the loan went into default, Jackson also refused to turn over his trucks. Now the land company wants their money back. 

That case is still working its way through the Lake County court system. Missoula Livestock Exchange filed a civil suit against Jackson in 2014 for not returning a check it paid to Jackson for $12,006. That suit was dismissed without prejudice after the livestock company’s attorney moved to dismiss, the records said.