Decatur Couple Facing New Federal Charges

New Federal charges could put Decatur couple in prison for 30 years.

The never ending case against Michael and Melissa Stamp continues.  According to Michigan Farm News,

If convicted, the five charges against Mike Stamp – and the one charge against Melissa Stamp – could mean up to a 30-year maximum sentence and/or fines and a total of $55.3 million in restitution, which includes financial assets.

Mike and Melissa Stamp were indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum 30-year sentence and/or a $1 million fine and a monetary restitution judgement of $25 million.

This is part of a case against Stamp Farms that has been ongoing since they filed for bankruptcy in 2012.  Back in January Agweb.com reported,

Stamp’s wife, Melissa Sue Stamp, was sentenced in May 2015 on bankruptcy fraud to 20 months, but has since been released. Melissa Stamp admitted concealing money from the bankruptcy.

New evidence may have been found in this case which has lead to the superseding indictments according to Michigan Farm News,

The new indictment “supersedes” an original 14-count indictment filed Dec. 13, 2017, naming Mike Stamp, James Becraft and Douglas Diekman as co-defendants for allegedly conspiring to commit crop insurance fraud and related bank fraud, including fraudulently overstating grain inventories and land-lease documents, which they used as collateral to obtain financing from Wells-Fargo.

The superseding indictment, according to Michigan Farm Bureau’s legal team, is typically filed when new evidence has been found and new charges need to be filed.

Mike Stamp has plead not guilty and has a court date in Jan of 2019.

This is a complex case involving co-conspirators, millions of dollars in restitution and decades in prison with a lot of moving parts.  Get the full story by clicking here.