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Cattle-farming couple face tax charges in Dakota County tied to co-op

Rustling case heads to court after South St. Paul police and Dakota County deputies partner up to corral couple accused of a plot to feed their high-rolling gambling ways.

By JOY POWELL, Star Tribune

Last update: April 21, 2009 - 6:38 AM

Stir together some modern-day cattle-rustling, the cooking of a cattle company's books to cover it up and a couple of cattle farmers whose marriage revolves around heavy-duty gambling.

Those are the alleged circumstances that on Monday landed a Randolph, Minn., couple in Dakota County District Court, accused of an intricate scheme to embezzle cash and rustle cattle from a farmers' cooperative in South St. Paul.

The vehicle used to prosecute the ranchers are tax crimes: They're charged with underreporting their gross income by at least $1.03 million from 2001 to 2005, court papers show.

In what county authorities call one of the most complex financial schemes they have ever seen, Barry James May and his wife, Shelly Faye May, are charged with eight tax crimes each in connection with failing to file state returns, filing false returns and failing to pay their Minnesota income taxes.

Barry May, 45, and Shelly May, 42, made their first court appearance Monday on the summonses, which required no bail. They are to return Aug. 10 for an evidentiary hearing. Neither returned a reporter's telephone call.

A 15-page criminal complaint details the allegations:

At Central Livestock Association in South St. Paul, Barry May had worked as cattle manager, overseeing the transport, holding, buying and selling of the cattle. Authorities say he used his position to commit fraud in various ways, including setting up fictitious customers and accounts.

Records and witness accounts show that the cooperative's money had been used to buy cattle from several farmers, which were in turn delivered to the Mays' cattle farm in the Cannon Falls area rather than to South St. Paul. Police in South St. Paul and county sheriff's investigators had investigated the lengthy case and then brought in the Minnesota Department of Revenue. The cooperative had begun an internal investigation before calling police.

The cooperative apparently lost $1 million in cash or more. The cooperative's officials are carefully watching the criminal case unfold against the manager they fired in July 2005. The cooperative is leaving open all options for its own actions, said Jeff Reed, chief operating officer at Central Livestock Association.

The case is built largely on paperwork. That includes records from Mystic Lake Casino showing that Barry May racked up more than $1.5 million in gambling activity from January 2000 through January 2006, and his wife had similar activity.

May, with his wife acting as his bookkeeper, reported significant cattle sales from 2001 through 2005 on his Federal schedule F for farm operations, which flows through to taxable income on the Minnesota return. But at the same time, he reported little or no net profit each year.

"From available information at the time," the complaint says, "it appeared that defendant's lifestyle and spending habits exceeded that which would be normal for somebody with his reported taxable income."

Joy Powell • 952-992-9017

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