Creditors Of Farmers Elevator Co-Op Settle For $1.45M From D&O Insurance

Creditors of the defunct Ashby Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co. have settled a claim with its former board members for failing to uphold their fiduciary responsibility and monitor the actions of former manager Jerry Hennessey, who stole millions of dollars from the elevator.

The $1.45 million settlement will be paid entirely out of the cooperative’s $1.5 million "directors and officers" insurance policy.

Separately, the creditors will go after the man who drove Hennessey away to Iowa in 2018, saying Hennessey in 2012 used $11,500 in co-op funds to buy the man’s home in Fergus Falls, Minn.

Hennessey remains in federal prison in North Carolina after pleading guilty to stealing $5.4 million from the elevator over at least 15 years, using the money for big game hunting trips around the world.

As a result of his embezzlement, the elevator became insolvent with $10 million owed to creditors, which include area farmers.