The Cattle Empire That Turned Out to Be a Giant Ponzi Scheme

The Wall Street Journal

Margot Patrick, Patrick Thomas

Article

4 Pages

June 2026

The Wall Street Journal examines how Brian McClain’s cattle operation became a $170 million fraud built on imaginary livestock. What appeared to be an 80,000 head business unraveled after inspection found only 8,916 animals, exposing weak verification and misplaced trust.

Miscellaneous Financial Fraud

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