Stockton farmer convicted of crop insurance fraud

A federal jury convicted Stockton farmer Gregory P. Torlai Jr. of deceiving the government by filing fraudulent insurance claims to try to collect $400,000 from a taxpayer-backed insurance program set up to help farmers survive when nature destroys crops.

Torlai, 49, was found guilty in Sacramento on all 16 counts of making false statements in an scheme to trick three private insurance companies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federal Crop Insurance Corp., which runs the federal crop insurance program.

The jury found Thursday that Torlai had lied about how many seeds he’d bought and the number of acres of wheat, safflower and other crops he’d planted in Lassen, San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties. Insurance adjusters and federal inspectors, who looked into Torlai’s benefit claims, had found fields with boulders, knee-high sagebrush and garbage pits — but no signs of ruined crops.

Neither Torlai nor his defense attorney, Donald Heller, could be reached for comment Thursday.

Torlai was released on his own recognizance until a May 3 sentencing hearing. He faces up to 30 years in prison, though prosecutors said he was unlikely to receive that long of a sentence. He also faces a $1-million fine.

“We hope this verdict sends a message that the program is intended to support hardworking farmers who suffer from the vicissitudes of nature, and it’s not a treasure chest open to fraudsters,” said U.S. Atty. Benjamin B. Wagner.

USDA officials say that most U.S. farmers who take part in the multibillion-dollar program follow the rules and that the program is a key economic safety net for the agricultural community. But fraud does occur, and the federal government has been fighting back by using satellite technology, advanced data-mining techniques and other tools to spot it.

p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com