Photo: Green arrested in Texas
On December 28th, Justin Tyler Greer was arrested for embezzlement, fraud, and cattle theft, concluding an intense six-month long investigation spanning 4 states and totaling 1.5 million dollars.
Justin Tyler Green
Justin Tyler Greer was a well-known cattle broker and manager of many herds for Wyoming, California, and Colorado farmers who kept their stock in Tulare County. His clients became suspicious when in April and May of last year they noticed unusual financial activity on Greer’s part. This prompted a closer look into their accounts with Greer; two farmers ordered audits. The audits uncovered hundreds of cattle missing.
It soon came to light that Greer also lied to investors. He led them to believe he owned and was authorized to sell cattle in which they invested. Other times he made up the existence of cattle all together, embezzling their money.
Greer’s seven victims filed a report with the Sheriff’s Agriculture Crimes Detectives in June. Their report included statements and evidence supporting their claims and an investigation was launched.
Many agencies came together to gather sufficient evidence to build a strong case against Greer and also to recover as much livestock as possible to cut down on victims’ losses. Such was the case when detectives worked with the California Bureau of Livestock Identification Brand Unit and criminal investigators from Wyoming’s Livestock Board to recoup 900 head of cattle unlawfully transported and kept on Wyoming pastures.
Recovered cattle pictured in Pinedale, Wyoming.
More than 25 search warrants were issued during the investigation allowing detectives access to various financial institutions, residences, offices, and electronic devices to gather thousands of documents and other evidence which supported grievances of Greer’s victims.
Tulare County Sheriff Detectives traveled to Tarzan, Texas on December 27th to fulfill the arrest warrant issued for Greer. Once in Texas they worked with the “Fugitive Task Force comprised of officials from the Texas Ranger, The Midland County Sheriff’s Office, The Martin County Sheriff’s Office, The U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Special Ranger Unit” and successfully arrested Greer on December 28th. By Decemeber 31st, Greer was booked into Tulare County’s Adult Pre-trial Facility.
At the press conference held after Greer’s arrest, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux stated, “We, at the Sheriff’s Office, take it very seriously when one man steals another man’s cattle and commits fraud.” Bail is set at $1.9 million.
