The federal case against Express Grain's Coleman

GREENWOOD - More trouble for Greenwood native and former Express Grain CEO John Coleman.

Not only did a Leflore County Grand Jury indict him on six fraud counts... we now know a federal grand jury has done the same... and the federal charges are far more serious.

No sooner did the Leflore County Grand Jury get finished with Express Grain founder John Coleman... the feds had an equally unpleasant surprise for him.

This 6-count indictment lays out much the same case made by the state of Mississippi, but it adds two very serious, federal charges, bank and wire fraud.

The federal indictment goes into some detail on how prosecutors believe Coleman falsified records, namely audit reports, to keep his business going under what the feds call false pretenses.

The Bank fraud comes in, as Coleman admits to his biggest creditor, UMB Bank that he under-reported his inventory.

"Didn't think about what's important to the bank".... says a video from UMB explaining the importance of the bank-client relationship.

The indictment lays out how prosecutors believe Coleman shorted the grain he owed UMB.... selling the excess to other buyers and pocketing the profit.

In fact, the indictment goes further into describing what it calls the "scheme" to defraud, the bank, the government and lots of delta farmers.

U.S. Marshals brought Coleman to the United States District Courthouse in Greenville for an appearance before a judge, who set Coleman free on 50-thousand dollars bond.

The feds set a long list of conditions for Coleman's release.

So, while we've watched the long saga of Express grain play out in federal bankruptcy court, we can now look forward to not just one... but two criminal trials... state and federal... with Express Grain CEO John Coleman.... the star of the show.

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The Federal case against Express Grain's Coleman

GREENWOOD - More trouble for Greenwood native and former Express Grain CEO John Coleman.