KANSAS CITY — A 70-year-old Greeley cattleman will get six months in federal prison followed by six months of house arrest for bank fraud. A federal judge also ordered Joseph Donohue to pay $10 million in restitution. Donohue pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said Donohue admitted he gave false information to Lyons State Bank in order to obtain loans for buying and feeding cattle. In November 2007, Donohue signed a $7.6 million promissory note to the bank. To secure the debt, he granted the bank an interest in livestock he owned and he agreed to provide quarterly inventory reports on his cattle. In September, Donohue told the bank he had a cattle inventory worth more than $18.2 million when his cattle were actually worth $3 million, Welch said. In October 2008, he told the bank he had more than 13,000 head of cattle when he had only 650 head of cattle to secure the loan. Welch said Donohue also gave false financial statements to get a $3.2 million loan from Farmers and Merchants State Bank in West Pointe, Neb., and a loan a more than $1 million from Farmers State Bank in Garnett.
Tuesday, July 27, 7 a.m.
