Stephanie Wenger is a TV Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She joined the brand in 2021 as a digital news writer, covering stories spanning across the site's verticals. She previously contributed E! Online, Hollywood Life and Oscar.com.
Steven McBee has pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar crop insurance fraud case.
The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys star, 52, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme involving the receipt of federal crop insurance benefits that he was allegedly not authorized to get in a federal court in Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 5, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri announced.
McBee -- who is the owner of McBee Farming Operations -- was charged with one count of federal crop insurance fraud. His guilty plea serves as an admission that he "engaged in fraudulent activity from 2018 to 2020 that caused an economic loss to the U.S. Department of Agriculture," according to the DOJ press release.
The reality star is facing up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the United States Probation Office's presentence investigation.
The DOJ claimed the government's total loss was $4,022,123 and McBee will also be required to forfeit an additional $3,158,923. His full restitution will be determined by the court at a later date under the terms of his plea agreement.
According to the DOJ press release, McBee admitted to making a false report to Rain and Hail, a company reinsured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. He also confessed to sending "fraudulent documents to Rain and Hail that underreported his total 2018 corn crop by approximately 674,812 bushels and underreported his total 2018 soybean crop by approximately 155,833 bushels," the press release stated.
The falsified reports allowed McBee to receive $2,605,943 in federal crop insurance benefits in addition to $552,980 in federal crop insurance premium subsidies. In total, he received $3,158,923 in benefits he was not authorized to get.
The farm owner also acknowledged that his company sold more than 1.2 million bushels of corn and nearly 416,000 bushels of soybeans to another party in 2018. His crop insurance records for that year indicated that only 340,476 bushels of corn and 190,171 bushels of soybeans were produced.
Additionally, McBee falsified information he provided to his insurance company about the company's soybean crop in 2019. At the time, he claimed the soybeans "were the first crop in certain fields when wheat had already been harvested from those fields," the DOJ states.
The insurance policy allowed coverage on the first crop planted on a piece of land during a given year. His claims allowed McBee to be paid federal crop insurance benefits which he was not authorized to receive.
In 2020, the television personality "provided false information when he obtained crop insurance through NAU Country Insurance in 2020," according to the DOJ.
McBee also shared false planting dates on crop insurance documents with NAU Country Insurance. His company harvested corn after the last planting date in 2020, which made it ineligible for insurance. Consequently, he received unauthorized federal crop insurance benefits.
The television personality also admitted to committing additional fraud in 2019 and 2020.
Season 1 of The McBee Family Dynasty: Real Life Cowboys -- which aired on Peacock -- offered a glimpse at the operations of McBee Farm and Cattle as part of the high-stakes world of farming and ranching in Missouri.
The ranch was "at a crossroads, poised to either soar to billion-dollar success or plunge into financial ruin pending a pivotal decision from a Venture Capital investment firm," according to an official synopsis.
McBee's "personal struggles threaten the stability of the family business," the description continues. "With tensions mounting between Steve and his sons -- Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer alum Steven Jr., Jesse and Cole -- after an explosive affair, viewers can expect a rollercoaster ride of ambition and betrayal."
In October, PEOPLE confirmed the reality series will move to Bravo for season 2 in 2025. Episodes will then appear on Peacock the next day.
McBee is not expected to be part of the show's second season amid his legal troubles.