Steve McBee Sr. is preparing to begin his two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in a multimillion-dollar crop insurance fraud scheme.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, the 52-year-old reality star shared how she reacted when she found out she would be going to jail, saying, “It was a sobering moment.”
He explained that when he first heard about the investigation, he “really wasn’t too concerned,” because, as a business owner for more than 33 years, he had “gone through every audit.” He thought it was just like any other audit, and that once he got the information he needed, “it would be over just like the rest.”
However, after meeting with his lawyer he realized that this time was different.
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“I went over there and the government basically gave us a kind of BAFO – best and final offer,” he said. “We have 48 hours. He said this is his intimidation technique, like a poker game here. And then, basically what he said was, OK, you can plead guilty as an individual and, just for clarification, you can plead to one count of making a fraudulent statement to crop insurance. If you don’t do that as an individual, Steve A. McBee, in turn, we can plead guilty to one count of making a fraudulent statement to crop insurance. “One of my coworkers is going to be charged with 27 federal charges. 48 hours.”
He described what he did as “intimidation techniques” and said he and his colleagues “had nothing to do with it.” “When I saw them blaming some of my fellow coworkers,” he said, “I couldn’t let them take the blame,” he said, adding that as the owner of the company, “I decided the responsibility was on me,” so he took responsibility.
See: Steve MCBE Sr. Thought the investigation was just another audit before getting jail sentence for crop insurance fraud
McBee was sentenced to two years in the federal prison camp in Yankton, South Dakota, and at his sentencing hearing on October 16, he was ordered to serve an additional two years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence, and must pay $4,022,124 in restitution to the USDA Risk Management Agency.
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Before sentencing, he faced up to 30 years in federal prison.
McBee clarified that no money was missing. (Emerson Miller/Peacock via Getty Images)
“I want to say this with complete clarity that people should understand that no money is missing,” he said. “When you farm over 10,000 acres, which we did in 2020, 44,000 acres, in three states, in 923 different regions, they do post-planting audits, pre-harvest and post-harvest audits. They know what grain we have. They’ve been to every farm.”
He added, “They got the planting date which was half wrong. We were there on May 20. We planted half the field. We didn’t go back until June 19.” “And they basically said, half your crop insurance is invalid because of the wrong plant date. I mean, I guess, that can’t be real. It’s just normal day-to-day business.”
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McBee called the case against him a “trophy prosecution”, and said the two-year prison sentence had a huge impact on the business, reporting that he had lost more than $20 million in debt. “I had to pay them all off, sell a lot of land. I mean, it goes on and on,” he said.
See: Steve MCBE Sr. He says he ‘lost $20 million in debt’ since sentencing
In addition to monetary losses, McBee said his reputation has also been “destroyed”, with people now thinking he earned all his money by defrauding the government, not by “working seven days a week for 33 years”.
McBee says he has lost money and his reputation since his prison sentence. (Paul Andrews/Peacock via Getty Images)
He said, “We didn’t make money from farming. We even wasted a few years, and it’s very difficult to make money from farming and I like challenges and I love farming. I think it’s in my DNA.” “Literally 75 people lost their jobs. We made huge cutbacks, and I still have 300 employees in my other businesses. It caused problems in my other businesses, everywhere. Wherever you bank, because when they charge you with a felony, I mean, that’s when the banks get involved, as you may know from the personal guarantee.”
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However, when it comes to her family, the reality star said they have “never been close.” He said he knows he has “raised four lions, not four sheep” and that he is not worried about his sons, adding that he has a strong work ethic.
Despite everything he’s been through, McBee says he will “never let anyone prey on me” and that once his sentence is completed, he will be “stronger than ever and ready to go.”
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“Steve McBee keeps the door open for every person young and old. My kids always say, ‘Dad, don’t pick up hitchhikers.’ I stop on the side of the highway and change the tire. That’s Steve McBee. “I know who I am,” he said. “I’m not stabbing anybody at the gas pump, because I’ve been arrested 100 times and then released back onto the streets. But I’m going to jail. Life isn’t fair sometimes without a reason. I told the boys this, and I’m going to give up, but I want my story to be heard because other farmers need to know they can come to you whenever they want.”
McBee says his sons are prepared to take over the business while he’s in prison. (Emerson Miller/Peacock via Getty Images)
In terms of preparations for the prison, McBee said he has “tried to get everything in line with the business” for his sons and managers.
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He tries to look on the bright side of the situation, saying that this is an opportunity for his managers to “move forward, prove that they can do this.”
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“People don’t call me up and say, ‘Hey, Steve just wanted to let you know everything is great today,’ they call me up about a crisis,” he said. “‘Hey, this and this happened, how do you want to handle it?’ Well, now they will get the opportunity to make a decision, so I think they are nervous, but they will be fine so I have tried to prepare everything.”
Before going to jail, he will also take time to celebrate all the holidays and birthdays that he will miss while he is out.
Cameras will be following the family when McBee surrenders himself. (Paul Andrews/Peacock via Getty Images)
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The entire process will be shown on the next season of “McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys,” with McBee saying his family always wants to be “transparent” with their viewers.
“One of the things we said when we were making the show with Bravo and NBC Universal was that we wanted to keep it real,” he said. “We feel like there’s a lot of show, drama, and trying to create anything, so we want to be very transparent and open with our lives if we think people can read through the BS, and they know what’s real and what’s not. And yes, we’ll allow them.”
“It was a family decision,” he said. “They asked, and they were very respectful, if they could film it. And we all talked about it collectively, as a group, and decided it was happening regardless. It’s part of our lives.”
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