Agridime cattle fraud case advances as North Dakota defendant pleads guilty

LINCOLN, Neb. — A North Dakota cattle broker has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal case alleging a $200 million cattle investment scheme involving Agridime LLC, while another defendant has been denied a request for a separate trial.

Taylor Orris Bang of Kildeer, North Dakota, faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine under a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Bang was among five people associated with Agridime indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth, Texas. Prosecutors allege the defendants defrauded individual cattle purchasers, ranchers and feedlots by falsely promising to use investors’ money to purchase specific cattle, sell the resulting beef and return a profit.

Instead, prosecutors allege, money from newer cattle purchasers was used to cover Agridime’s operating expenses, repay earlier cattle purchasers, pay personal expenses and purchase real estate.

As part of his plea agreement, Bang agreed to forfeit at least $2 million in cash rather than surrender an Arizona property. He also will not be required to testify against the other four defendants, whose trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 2, 2026.

Bang owned and operated Taylor Bang Cattle Sales LLC. According to court documents, he served as a cattle broker for Agridime from January 2021 through December 2023 and recruited sub-brokers to work for the company.

Federal prosecutors said the purpose of the conspiracy involving Bang was to obtain money and property from cattle purchasers through false representations and the concealment of material facts.

Court documents allege that from about October through December 2023, Bang, Joshua Link and Royana Thomas solicited and executed an Agridime cattle contract with an Arizona resident despite a cease-and-desist order issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The Arizona resident subsequently sent $240,000 to an account controlled by Bang rather than to an Agridime account, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors allege Bang knew the investor had not been told — and would not learn from the cattle contract or Agridime’s business records — that the company was subject to the Arizona cease-and-desist order, that the order prohibited the transaction, or that her name had been omitted from the contract and her payment routed to Bang’s personal account to conceal those facts.

Also indicted in the case were Jed Wood of Fort Worth; Joshua Link of Strafford, Missouri; Tia Link of Smithton, Missouri; and Thomas of Arlington, Texas.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has rejected Joshua Link’s request to be tried separately from the other defendants.

Link faces 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Prosecutors allege, among other conduct, that Link wired more than $527,000 to purchase real property.

Following the February 2026 indictment, Link did not immediately surrender to authorities. The FBI arrested him in March 2026.

Federal prosecutors argued that Link should be tried with the remaining three defendants because the alleged schemes were interconnected. Link’s attorneys countered that a joint trial would unfairly prejudice him, according to court documents.

The court ultimately denied Link’s request for a separate trial, leaving him scheduled to face the other defendants when the case goes to trial Nov. 2, 2026.

The charges against Link and the remaining defendants are allegations, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.