A Linn County  hog farmer has pled guilty to defrauding a northeast Iowa bank by manipulating his books. Fifty-eight-year-old David LeClere of Coggon pled guilty to one count of bank fraud.

LeClere admitted to a scheme from March 2007 through May 2009 where he provided the bank with false information each month, inflating the number and weight of his hogs and falsely inflating his accounts receivable by reporting that packing plants owed him more money than they did.

LeClere further admitted to redepositing on multiple occasions checks he had received as payment from packing plants. The bank lost at least $6.9-million through the scheme. LeClere is free on bond pending a sentencing date. If he is given the maximum sentence, he could spend 30 years in prison and have to pay a $12-million fine.