An Ada, Okla. man surrendered to authorities at the Pontotoc County jail Thursday on charges stemming from an investigation regarding cattle sold on the Internet. The suspect was charged with obtaining merchandise or money by false pretenses.
TSCRA Special Ranger Bart Perrier and Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Special Agent Ricky Rushing jointly led the investigation.
According to Perrier, Shane Mark Lynch, 35, of Ada, Okla., was doing business as Lynch Cattle Company. Lynch advertised cattle for sale on an online cattle marketing website and in June 2016, a Texas man purchased 40 head of cross bred cow/calf pairs for the sum of $80,000 from Lynch Cattle Company.
The funds were wired to Lynch who agreed to deliver the cattle to Texas. After several days of not hearing from Lynch, the Texas man realized the cattle were not going to be delivered as promised.
Lynch Cattle Company had been selling cattle for several years via the online cattle marketing site. The investigation revealed that Lynch did not actually own or possess the cattle advertised and sold to the victim in this case.
Lynch admitted that he advertised the cattle and sold them before he actually owned the cattle in question. Lynch admitted he obtained the funds from the victim but due to his financial situation he could not pay back the funds or go out and purchase cattle similar to the ones advertised to deliver to the victim as agreed.
Lynch was charged with one count of obtaining merchandise or money by false pretenses and was released from the Pontotoc County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
“This case is a good example of agencies working together to charge and arrest a person for taking advantage of ranchers via the internet,” said Perrier. “I’m pleased we were able to stop this suspect from fraudulently taking funds from multiple victims who just wanted to purchase cattle in a good faith effort.”
TSCRA would like to thank special agent Ricky Rushing for his assistance in this investigation.