A man facing fraud and theft allegations originating from southern Alberta is also being accused by Montana Department of Justice officials of running a scam in their state involving non-delivery of cattle feed.
Montana investigators allege that Scott James Piggott of southern Alberta is responsible for defrauding the state’s cattle producers of up to $5 million through his company, New Way Ag.
Kyler Nerison, communications officer with the Montana Department of Justice, said Piggott was arrested in Okotoks, Alta., the week of April 18 in connection with the latest allegations stemming from a breach of release conditions from previous criminal allegations.
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“It’s a scam we’ve heard of before,” said Nerison of the allegations involving failure to deliver cattle feed after payment.
Those are often less sophisticated operations than what Piggott is alleged to have conducted, which included placing ads in Montana agricultural publications, said Nerison.
“One of the differences in this is that he (allegedly) went through lengths to look like a legitimate company with a professional-looking website, newspaper ads, that sort of thing,” said Nerison.
Especially irksome, he added, is the language of the ads, which stated, “we are here to help livestock producers afford to keep their herds!”
The advertisement was offering grain, barley and wheat straw for between $145 and $225 per ton delivered, and claimed the company produces 250,000 bales each year.
In a news release on the allegations, Montana state Attorney General Austin Knudsen called out those who would try to defraud residents in light of the tough conditions being faced by ranchers.
“Montana ranchers are facing headwinds as it is without being scammed by crooks looking to make a quick buck. Please report any suspected scams to our office so we can hold these criminals accountable,” Knudsen said in a statement. “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Now more than ever we all must keep a watchful eye out for scammers looking to take advantage of Montanans.”
Piggott is also facing a number of criminal allegations in Alberta going back several years, including fraud and theft charges in Lethbridge and Drumheller as well as breaching release conditions out of Calgary and Taber.
A trial involving allegations of a $800,000 fraud and theft from three Taber businesses from offences dating back to 2013 has yet to be held with a date set for this week to schedule the proceedings.
Calls to New Way Ag phone numbers listed in published ads were not responded to prior to publication deadline.
The company’s website purports to offer a range of biomass services for the mushroom industry and biofuels.
