A grain farmer in northwestern Minnesota has been sentenced to home detention and ordered to repay the more than $540,000 he received by filing false insurance claims that reported weather-related crop damage in recent years.

Kevan J. Nelson, who turned 69 on Friday, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in connection with his claim of corn and soybean crops being lost to excessive moisture in Becker and Clay counties.

Judge Wilhelmina Wright sentenced Nelson to 10 months' home detention, a $20,000 fine, and five years' supervised release. He was also ordered to pay full restitution and is permanently excluded from participating in any federal farm programs.

In 2018 and 2019, Nelson "falsely reported losses in those years to obtain crop insurance payments to which he was not entitled, resulting in his receipt of $548,695 in fraudulent payments," charges against him read.

The payments were processed by a private insurance company and sponsored by an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.