The Cattle Swindle That Ended A Dynasty
The sun sets on Friday, June 17, 2022, at the Freedom Rodeo in Basin City. KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer Megan Farmer/KUOW Photo hide caption
The sun sets on Friday, June 17, 2022, at the Freedom Rodeo in Basin City. KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer
Megan Farmer/KUOW PhotoOn December 16, 2022, a rancher from Washington state reported to a federal prison to begin serving an 11-year sentence. He was convicted of running one of the largest cattle-related fraud schemes in U.S. history, a swindle so big it actually affected the price of beef for American consumers.
Up First Sunday host Rachel Martin speaks to journalist Anna King about how it all went wrong for rancher Cody Easterday. King also tells this story in her new podcast, Ghost Herd.
All six episodes of Ghost Herd are out now:
- Part 1: The Empire Builders
- Part 2: The Swindle
- Part 3: The Gamble
- Part 4: The Crash
- Part 5: The Bidding War
- Part 6: The Reckonin'
Ghost Herd is a joint production of KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio and Northwest Public Broadcasting, both members of the NPR Network.
The audio portion of this episode was produced by Audrey Nguyen, with engineering support from Carleigh Strange. It was edited by Jennifer Schmidt. Digital support was provided by Rhaina Cohen.
Ghost Herd was created and hosted by Anna King. It was produced by Matt Martin, and edited by Jim Gates.
Listen to Up First on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.