A farmer in the Niles area has been ordered to repay tens of thousands in federal agricultural assistance funds.

David G. Zelmer has agreed to pay $87,500 dollars to settle the case and resolve the allegations that he violated the False Claims Act. It alleges that he obtained federal crop insurance and Farm Service Agency benefit payments for crops he didn’t grow.

WSJM reports that he had leased certain tracts of land to another farmer, but still claimed he was the sole producer on that land for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017.