Minnesota man accused of falsely selling crops as organic

high angle shot of some different raw vegetables, such as cauliflower of different colors, broccolini, fava beans, french beans, kale, onion or carrots, on a white rustic wooden table

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota farmer is accused of making $46 million by passing off chemically treated corn and soybeans as organically grown.

James Clayton Wolf was charged July 7 in federal court with felony wire fraud. Prosecutors say Wolf falsely labeled crops grown on his rural Cottonwood County farm as organic and that he defrauded grain buyers and undermined the nation’s organic labeling system.

Organic crops are grown from non-GMO seeds and without chemicals or fertilizers. They generate higher prices at market than non-organic crops. Organic crop certification is controlled by the federal National Organic Program, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.