Fert exec pleads guilty to fraud

Fresno, Calif. — Fertilizer business owner Kenneth Noel Nelson Jr. will be sentenced Nov. 5 after pleading guilty to four counts of mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud organic farmers and other customers. According to the United States attorney’s office here, Nelson Jr., 59, of Bakersfield, faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine on each mail fraud count, and up to three years of supervised release. Nelson admitted that from 2003 to January 2009 he defrauded farmers and distributors through his company, Port Organic Products Ltd., and affiliated businesses by manufacturing and selling fertilizers with synthetic materials such as aqueous ammonia, ammonium sulfate, and urea not permitted in organic fertilizers or organic agriculture, and submitted false applications and documentation to have his fertilizers listed as organic by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Organic Materials Review Institute. According to U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner, “Consumers pay a premium for organic products, and they should not be misled by companies that seek to profit by falsely categorizing their products as organic. We will continue to work with USDA investigators and with the FBI in examining production and labeling practices in the organic fertilizer industry.”