(Cedar Rapids, IA) — An eastern Iowa farmer will spend ten months in federal prison for spending cattle loan funds on gambling and personal items. Twenty-six-year-old Brian Detwiler of Bellevue was sentenced after pleading guilty to conversion of a property pledged to a farm credit agency. Court records show the USDA approved a 50-thousand-dollar loan for Detwiler to purchase 50 beef cattle in December of 2017. Prosecutors say he requested a disbursement of nine-thousand dollars, but spent the money on construction materials for his home. Detwiler then asked for the remaining 41-thousand dollars and used 32-thousand on 35 head of cattle and spent the rest of gambling, bars and food. He sold 22 head of cattle for nearly 34-thousand dollars and later admitted to spending it all in a casino.
