DesMoinesRegister

DES MOINES, IA — The former leader of a controversial meatpacking plant has been arrested again, this time on a federal bank-fraud charge.

Sholom Rubashkin, 49, who ran the Agriprocessors, Inc. plant for years, was arrested in Postville this morning, said Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. Rubashkin was scheduled to appear in court in Cedar Rapids at 11 a.m. today.

Agri Woes Continue to Mount

DesMoinesRegister

DES MOINES, IA — The former leader of a controversial meatpacking plant has been arrested again, this time on a federal bank-fraud charge.

Sholom Rubashkin, 49, who ran the Agriprocessors, Inc. plant for years, was arrested in Postville this morning, said Bob Teig, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. Rubashkin was scheduled to appear in court in Cedar Rapids at 11 a.m. today.

Rubashkin had been free on bond after being arrested late last month on federal charges of conspiring to hire undocumented workers at the Postville meat processing plant. He also faces state charges of illegally employing underage workers at the plant.

The company, which had been the nation’s largest supplier of kosher meat, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. That action came shortly after a lawsuit filed by First Bank, which said Agriprocessors defaulted on a $35 million loan and overstated how much money it had available.

Agriprocessors was the site of a huge immigration raid in May. Nearly 400 workers, most of whom were from Guatemala, were arrested and accused of being in the country illegally. The plant already was under investigation for alleged labor violations.

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