California Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $5M of Canola From Food Processors

Shawn Sawa, a 47 year-old man formerly of Clovis, California, has pled guilty to stealing $4.8 million of canola from food processors together with another man, Richard Best.

The pair carried out the theft through Best’s train-to-truck transloading company Richard Best Transfer, which was responsible for transporting hundreds of thousands of tons of canola between food processors and their customers. 

They sold the stolen canola through a third person in Texas, who sold the canola to farms and dairies, and used fraudulent inventory reports with the food processors that showed higher levels of canola stocks for Richard Best Transfer than existed. 

Sawa, who was also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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