Missouri man to serve federal prison time in scheme linked to Wisconsin brothers' deaths
A Missouri man was sentenced in federal court for a fraud scheme that led to the murder of two Wisconsin brothers, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in the Western District of Missouri.
Garland Joseph Nelson of Braymer will serve 32 years in a federal prison for the $215,000 cattle fraud scheme. The court also ordered Nelson to pay $260,925 in restitution to his victims. Nelson also has a federal felony conviction for a 2015 cattle fraud scheme, and two state felony convictions for passing bad checks. According to court documents, Nelson had also been engaged in at least two more cattle fraud schemes following his release from prison for the 2015 fraud conviction.
On Oct. 4, 2022, Nelson pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Nelson admitted that he defrauded a Shawano County, Wisconsin company, Diemel’s Livestock, LLC, of $215,000 in a cattle contract.
More: Missouri man who killed Shawano County brothers pleads guilty of cattle fraud
On Sept. 30, 2022, Nelson pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in a state case related to the murders of Nicholas and Justin Diemel, principals in Diemel's Livestock.
In 2018, Nelson had agreed to care for Diemel's Livestock's cattle, then sell the cattle and send the owners the proceeds minus the cost of raising the cattle. According to the press release, Nelson admitted he killed many of the Diemels’s cattle and then fraudulently billed the Diemels for feed and yardage for the dead cattle.
Nicholas Diemel demanded payment throughout spring 2019. In June 2019, Nelson sent the Diemels a check for nearly $216,000 while his bank account had a balance of 21 cents. The Diemels came to Missouri to get their money in July 2019.
Nelson murdered Nicholas and Justin Diemel at that time and attempted to dispose of their bodies. Their remains were later found in west central Nebraska, after a rancher purchased a stock trailer in Missouri, according to the Lincoln County, Nebraska, Sheriff's Office.
Nelson will serve two life sentences for the murders of Nicholas and Justin Diemel. Nelson’s federal prison sentence must be served consecutively to his state sentence.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: MO man to serve 32 years for cattle fraud scheme linked to murders
