Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Hunter Hanson was arrested Thursday, April 4, on a felony theft charge brought in McLean County. On April 3 a criminal felony theft complaint against Hanson was filed by State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson. In the lengthy complaint, investigators allege Hanson operated a grain business run as a Ponzi scheme.
According to court records, Hanson is currently held on a $25,000 cash bond in McLean County. The bail order further stipulates that Hanson is not to buy or sell assets associated with the case without court approval. His request for court appointed counsel was denied on Wednesday, April 10. A preliminary hearing is set for May 15.
At 1 p.m. on April 4, Hanson also appeared in court in Stanley, N.D., on a separate non-sufficient funds charge brought in Mountrail County. According to the criminal complaint, Hanson’s Midwest Grain Trading wrote a check to United Quality Cooperative for $94,480.41. Hanson declined a jury trial and filed an Alford plea, in which the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict. On April 8, Judge Richard Hagar deferred imposition of his sentence in the Mountrail County case until after his other open cases are tried.
According to “Agweek,” Erickson also serves as state’s attorney in Sheridan County and started an investigation because of complaints that McClusky Cooperative Elevator in McClusky, N.D., had sold $770,000 in wheat to Hanson but two checks for partial payment bounced. Court records show that Erickson filed a Class A Felony charge of theft of lost or mislaid property over $50,000 on April 4.
Hanson’s Devils Lake-based businesses were shut down by the North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) last year after he failed to make payments to farmers and others from which he had purchased grain. Hanson, 21, recently has lived in Leeds and West Fargo, and had been ordered to not leave North Dakota because of the Mountrail County case. From 2017 to 2018, Hanson did business as Midwest Grain Trading as a “roving grain buyer” and in 2018 added NoDak Grain, with a warehouse license with rural facilities at Tunbridge and Rohrville.
In November 2018 the PSC issued a cease and desist order against Hanson. More than 50 claims exceeding $7.3 million had been filed as of April 4.