Reality TV Star to Prison     10/16 16:21

   McBee Sent to Prison for 24 Months on Crop Insurance Fraud; Ordered to Pay 
Additional $4M to USDA

   Gallatin, Missouri, farmer Steve A. McBee was sentenced to 24 months in 
prison after pleading guilty to crop insurance fraud and ordered to pay $4 
million in restitution.

Todd Neeley
DTN Environmental Editor

   Editor's Note: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri 
in Kansas City, earlier on Thursday, posted the court's judgement in the Steve 
A. McBee case that showed a jail sentence of 41 months. Hours later, the court 
posted an amended judgement setting the sentence at 24 months. This article has 
been updated to reflect that correction.

   **

   LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Ag reality television star and Missouri farmer Steve 
A. McBee was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Thursday and ordered to pay $4 
million in restitution, after pleading guilty to crop insurance fraud committed 
on his farm in Gallatin, Missouri.

   The 53-year-old star of the reality television series "The McBee Dynasty: 
Real American Cowboys," runs the farm along with sons Steve Jr., Cole, Jesse 
and Brayden.

   In all, McBee was ordered on Thursday to pay $4 million in restitution to 
the USDA's Risk Management Agency. He previously agreed to pay about $3.2 
million in a money judgement that represents his gain from the fraud. In 
addition, the court imposed two years of supervised release once the prison 
sentence is complete.

   McBee was ordered to surrender to authorities on Dec. 1, 2025, according to 
the court's sentence. The court recommended his prison sentence be served at a 
federal prison in Yankton, South Dakota.

   Attorneys for McBee asked the court to sustain his objection to a proposal 
to give him one criminal history point in sentencing guidelines for a $150 
traffic infraction. According to the government's memorandum, McBee was 
convicted in 2019 for consumption of alcohol while driving and had asked for a 
sentence of supervised release.

   The court overruled McBee's objection on that point.

   If the court had sustained McBee's objection to the government's sentencing 
request, the court would have been able to find that he's a "zero-point 
offender" and essentially lower the sentence below sentencing guidelines, 
according to pre-sentencing documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the 
Western District of Missouri.

   McBee admitted he engaged in "fraudulent activity" from 2018 to 2020 that 
caused an economic loss to USDA.

   In addition, McBee and McBee Family Farms defaulted on a $1.3 million loan 
with Rabo Agrifinance LLC, according to a judgment filed in the Circuit Court 
of Daviess County in the 43rd Judicial Circuit in Missouri on Aug. 13, 2025.

   Rabo first entered the judgment of default in Iowa District Court in Black 
Hawk County on June 25, 2025.

   In addition, U.S. attorneys filed a notice and bill of particulars for the 
forfeiture of property with the court on Aug. 29, requiring McBee to forfeit 
three wrist watches. According to DTN's research, the watches may be valued 
anywhere from $23,700 to more than $1 million.

   The property includes a Tag Heuer Formula 1 watch, a Tag Heuer Grand Carrera 
watch and a Rolex Daytona watch.

   The federal government is seeking the forfeiture of all property derived 
from proceeds traceable to the crop insurance fraud committed by McBee, who 
reached a plea agreement in the case.

   It was revealed during the second season of "The McBee Dynasty" that the 
farm was carrying debt of about $70 million.

   It was reported on Thursday by other news outlets that the show would air 
for a third season.

   Read more on DTN:

   "US: Sentence McBee to 41 Months Prison," 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2025/10/07
/prosecutors-seek-41-months-prison-ag

   Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

   Follow him on social platform X @DTNeeley




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