Former Ashby Grain Elevator Manager Pleads Guilty

The former manager of a western Minnesota grain elevator pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of mail fraud and tax evasion in a 15-year scheme to bilk his employer out of millions of dollars, reports theStar Tribune.

Jerome "Jerry" Hennessey, 56, said in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis that he had worked for the Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. for 30 years and used his control over its bank accounts to write personal checks that he then disguised as the co-op's business expenses.

He obtained a line of credit of about $7 million for the co-op by misrepresenting the amount of grain it had in storage and used that account to cover the money he stole from his employer, which federal prosecutors say totaled about $5.3 million.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 13.

Read the full report at theStar Tribune.