Armed with an order from U.S. District Court in Bay City and accompanied by Hampton Township Police, the marshals rolled in to the farm at 101 Ridge Road, and the flat-bed semi-truck they brought with them was proof that they meant business.
Federal prosecutors failed to get a criminal conviction against Richard, his brother, James, and other family members, but succeeded in November in winning a civil judgment against the Blis of $2.1 million for alleged fraudulent loans and insurance claims.
Richard owned and operated Bli Farms with his brother, James, who died in August. The two men, along with James' two sons, James Jr. and William, were charged in 1999 with defrauding the U.S. government of $704,640 from 1992 to 1996 in false claims to federal crop insurance programs. Richard also was accused of fraudulently obtaining a $500,000 disaster loan.
The government claims that the Blis filed insurance claims that grossly underreported the volume of potatoes they harvested and sold. Prosecutors say Richard Bli falsified records and made false claims to collect insurance payments to which the farm wasn't entitled. Federal attorneys claim the Blis continued leasing more and more acreage for potatoes in the Tri-County area, and in some cases, made it appear that they'd planted potatoes when they hadn't, in order to collect additional crop insurance.
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