Doug Turner stands in a sand-covered field at his farm on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 in Waitsfield, Vt. Devastating floods wrought by Hurricane Irene a year ago inundated farm fields in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, wiping out a season's worth of work and setting up fears that the land would be unworkable this year. Since then, a warm spring followed by cold snaps then a blazing, dry summer have added to grower's woes.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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Doug Turner stands in a sand-covered field at his farm on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 in Waitsfield, Vt. Devastating floods wrought by Hurricane Irene a year ago inundated farm fields in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, wiping out a season's worth of work and setting up fears that the land would be unworkable this year. Since then, a warm spring followed by cold snaps then a blazing, dry summer have added to grower's woes.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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FILE-In this Aug. 30, 2011, file photo, farmer's fields are flooded from Tropical Storm Irene in this aerial view on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011 in Rutland, Vt. A year after Hurricane Irene tore through farms from North Carolina to Vermont, some farmers are still grappling with the aftermath. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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In this March 20, 2012, file photo, silt from Tropical Storm Irene covers a farmers' field Tuesday, March 20, 2012 in Waitsfield, Vt. A year after Hurricane Irene tore through farms from North Carolina to Vermont, some farmers are still grappling with the aftermath. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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Doug Turner stands along the rebuilt river bank of the Mad River at his farm on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 in Waitsfield, Vt. Devastating floods wrought by Hurricane Irene a year ago inundated farm fields in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, wiping out a season's worth of work and setting up fears that the land would be unworkable this year. Since then, a warm spring followed by cold snaps then a blazing, dry summer have added to grower's woes.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
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Homes destroyed by Superstrom Sandy front the beach in the Rockaways section of New York, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. House Speaker John Boehner's decision to cancel an expected vote Tuesday night on aid for Superstorm Sandy victims outraged lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and elsewhere, including many in his own party. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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Rice farmer and crop insurance broker Tom Kelley stands outside his Eagle Lake, Texas office Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013 and talks about the economics of being a farmer. Texas rice farmers probably won't get irrigation water to flood their fields for a second consecutive year after officials overseeing major reservoirs in Central Texas voted Tuesday to cut off downstream allotments if there's no significant rain by March. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
News Summary: $100M NC crop insurance fraud ring
CRIMINAL CROP: Federal investigators have unraveled a massive scheme among dozens of insurance agents, claims adjusters, brokers and farmers in eastern North Carolina to steal at least $100 million from the government-backed program that insures crops.
BACKGROUND: The federal crop insurance program was created during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s as a way to keep farmers from going bankrupt because of a bad growing season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture pays about 15 private insurers to sell and manage the policies, but taxpayers are on the hook for most of the losses. Payouts for 2012 have topped $15.6 billion — a figure that is still growing as new claims are filed.
WIDE NET: Forty-one defendants have either pleaded guilty or reached plea agreements after profiting from false insurance claims for losses of tobacco, soybeans, wheat and corn. Authorities say the ongoing investigation is already the largest such ring uncovered in the country.
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