FBI: Suspect in $220M Cattle Investment Fraud Arrested in California

A man accused of orchestrating a nationwide cattle investment fraud scheme has been arrested in California after being on the FBI’s wanted list.

joshua-link_cattle_adobe-stock_FBI.jpg

Joshua Link was arrested on March 9 at LAX Airport by Customs and Border Patrol, LAX Airport Police, and FBI Task Force Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department. (2026)

Federal Bureau of Investigation; Adobe Stock

DENVER, COLO. (RFD NEWS) — A man accused of orchestrating a nationwide cattle investment fraud scheme has been arrested in California after being on the FBI’s wanted list.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joshua Robert Link was taken into custody on March 9 at Los Angeles International Airport by Customs and Border Protection officers, airport police, and FBI task force agents.

Link had been wanted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud tied to an alleged investment scheme involving cattle contracts sold through his company, Agridime LLC.

Federal investigators say that between January 2021 and December 2023, Link and his alleged co-conspirators promoted cattle investment contracts promising returns between 15% and 32%. Investors were told the company would purchase cattle, feed and process them, and then sell the meat through Agridime’s distribution network.

Authorities allege that in reality the company purchased only a fraction of the cattle it claimed to buy, resulting in approximately $220 million in losses to more than 2,000 investors nationwide.

A federal arrest warrant for Link was issued on January 29, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Investigators say he has ties to multiple states, including Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, Colorado, and Arizona.

Link is expected to face federal prosecution in Texas in connection with the alleged fraud scheme.

Related Stories
John Deere representative Kaylene Ballesteros took RanchHer host, Janie Johnson, on a tour of the company’s exciting, new offerings at NCBA CattleCon in Orlando.
RanchHer celebrated the invaluable contributions women leading the beef industry at their panel, “Your Path to Becoming a RanchHer,” Friday at NCBA CattleCon.
In part five of his blog series, “Top 10 Developments in Ag Law and Tax in 2023,” Roger McEowen tackles issue number three, California’s Prop 12 pork regulations.
“Where The Food Comes From” visits M&B Products, a milk bottling plant in Temple Terrace, FL (a suburb of Tampa) with its farm in Lecanto, operated by the McClellan family. Get ready for a lesson in everything from milk bottling, to dairy nutrition, and bovine reproduction!
Would you believe it’s possible to have a dairy barn where all you smell is clean fresh country air? Leon McLellan of M&B Products in Temple Terrace, FL shows us how!
If chocolate milke doesn’t come from brown cows (and strawberry milk certainly doesn’t come from pink ones), then where does it come from? Get the scoop!

Marion is a digital content manager for RFD News and FarmHER + RanchHER. She started working for Rural Media Group in May 2022, bringing a decade of digital experience in broadcast media and some cooking experience to the team.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Tue, 4/30/24 – 9 PM ET | 8 PM CT | 7 PM MT | 6 PM PT
RanchHER TV Host Janie Johnson joins lifelong neighbors Charity Staeffler and Sarah Kropf for a cold, icy adventure herding cattle through Oregon’s Blue Mountains.
RanchHER TV Host Janie Johnson joins lifelong neighbors Charity Staeffler and Sarah Kropf for a cold, icy adventure herding cattle through Oregon’s Blue Mountains.
Starting Monday, April 29, the USDA will require free avian flu (HPAI H5N1) testing on all dairy cattle before interstate travel. Positive cases must be directly reported to the USDA for tracing.
Since the Tennessee Main Street program’s inception in 2010, 78 rural commercial districts have been improved. These 12 new additions bring that total number up to 90.
Become a follower of ag influencer Mary Pat Sass. This entrepreneur and FarmHER does it all while raising kids and crafting delicious harvest meals that inspire other farm mamas to get in the kitchen.
FarmHER raises a glass to those behind the vines at Hope Family Wines: Vineyard Director Stasi Seay and Assistant Winemaker Samantha Taylor.