READING, Pa. — The owner of an award-winning organic dairy in Pennsylvania that abruptly closed its doors last fall is accused of milking investors to the tune of nearly $60 million.
Philip Riehl, the majority owner of Trickling Springs Creamery, ran a long-running fraud scheme that preyed on hundreds of Amish and Mennonite investors, according to federal prosecutors. Riehl, who was reportedly excommunicated from the Mennonite Church, was charged this week with securities and wire fraud. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney Friday.
The criminal charges against Riehl were filed in the form of an information, which is often a prelude to a guilty plea, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that he has apologized in a letter to investors, some of whom lost millions of dollars.
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