Limited financial relief is available for farmers who have gone unpaid due to the bankruptcy of Express Grain Terminals LLC.
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce issued a notice March 10 that farmers may submit claims on Express Grain’s two corporate surety bonds “on account of Express Grain’s failure to faithfully comply” with state law. Claims must be made within 60 days of the notice.
Express Grain, as required by Mississippi law, posted a surety bond of $1 million for its grain warehouse licenses and a bond of $100,000 for its grain dealer license. The company’s grain warehouse licenses were revoked last month after Commissioner Andy Gipson determined the company submitted fraudulent financial documents to the agency over multiple years.
For those seeking relief, a “Claim Against Corporate Surety Bonds” must to be submitted and is available on the department’s website at www.mdac.ms.gov/expressgrain. Farmers must write the factual bases of their claims and submit any supporting documents.
In an email, Gipson said there is no cap on the amount a person can claim on the bonds, but “once the bond proceeds are divided up among all the claimants, persons claiming losses will receive a pro-rated portion of their loss.”
Money has been an ongoing issue during the company’s bankruptcy. As first reported by The Taxpayers Channel, multiple parties were scheduled to meet in Jackson on Thursday in a mediation session ahead of court hearings on April 1 to determine ownership of Express Grain’s grain and grain proceeds.
The company’s attorney, Craig Geno, has estimated farmers are owed as much as $46 million, a number he called a “moving target.”
Geno asked the bankruptcy court Thursday for more time for Express Grain to operate. He said the “vast majority” of pre-petition grain has been sold or processed and is now in the form of cash, accounts receivable or finished product.
Express Grain’s Greenwood manufacturing plant and its grain warehouses in Greenwood, Sidon and Minter City were purchased last month by UMB Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, the company’s largest creditor, which held liens on nearly all of Express Grain’s property.
John Coleman, Express Grain’s president, has been ordered to appear before a meeting of creditors scheduled for Wednesday. He filed for bankruptcy along with Express Grain in late September.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
