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Ex-Humboldt Creamery chief gets prison for fraud
Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 1:59 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 2:17 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has sentenced Humboldt Creamery's former chief executive to 2½ years in prison after he admitted covering up severe financial problems that bankrupted the business.
The judge also ordered 50-year-old Rich Ghilarducci to pay a $7 million fine Thursday.
Ghilarducci pleaded guilty last year to a single count of loan fraud. He admitted falsely inflating the creamery's revenues between 2005 and 2008 to prevent a lender from learning of the creamery's true financial picture.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Ghilarducci ultimately defaulted on the loan, prompting the creamery to file for bankruptcy.
Founded in 1927, Humboldt Creamery was mostly owned by a cooperative of local dairy farmers who lost their investments when the fraud was discovered.
The creamery has since been sold to Foster Farms Dairy at auction.
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