Hawkeye Reporter

An Iowa farmer has pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges after admitting to defrauding the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) out of more than $1.5 million in pandemic-related subsidies, stealing identities, and stalking a victim and witness involved in his case.

Tanner James Seuntjens, 32, from Danbury, Iowa, entered his plea on September 19, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City. He was convicted of theft of government funds, aggravated identity theft, crop insurance fraud, and stalking.

According to the plea agreement, Seuntjens admitted that between June 2020 and June 2021 he filed fraudulent applications for Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) grants at three USDA-Farm Service Agency offices in Iowa. The applications—submitted under his name as well as those of another individual and a limited liability company—falsely claimed ownership of thousands of swine to qualify for livestock subsidies. Seuntjens also acknowledged submitting false documents during “spot checks” conducted by USDA-FSA county commissioners attempting to verify payments.

Seuntjens further admitted that from March 2021 through April 2022 he defrauded a South Dakota bank by forging an authorized representative’s signature on two-party checks no fewer than twenty times. These checks were required because Seuntjens had pledged accounts receivable—including grain and livestock sales—as collateral for earlier loans from the bank dating back to 2014. By diverting over $400,000 intended for the bank’s collateral through forged signatures, Seuntjens used the funds for various purposes including farming expenses, personal travel to Cocoa Beach and Disney World, transfers to family members, and large cash withdrawals.

Additionally, Seuntjens admitted committing crop insurance fraud during the 2022 and 2023 seasons by underreporting yields so he could improperly receive federally subsidized insurance payouts.

The plea agreement also states that while on pretrial release in August 2025—and despite court orders forbidding contact—Seuntjens traveled to Nebraska where he placed a tracking device on the vehicle of a person who was both a victim and witness in his federal case. He admitted doing so with intent “to harass and intimidate the witness and to place the person under surveillance.”

Sentencing will be scheduled following preparation of a presentence report before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Due to violations related to pretrial release conditions prior to sentencing, Seuntjens is currently held by U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing proceedings.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years’ imprisonment without parole but could serve up to forty-two years with fines totaling $1.75 million if maximum penalties are imposed. Following incarceration he may also be ordered up to five years’ supervised release.

Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek is prosecuting this case following investigations led by the USDA Office of Inspector General alongside Special Investigations Staff.