A Lawrence County man has been sentenced to over five years in prison for his involvement in a mail fraud scheme. U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples announced the sentencing.
Christopher Michelfelder, 56, from Moulton, Alabama, received a 63-month prison sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke. Michelfelder had pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges in December 2024.
The plea agreement revealed that Michelfelder was the facility manager at a local branch of an international agricultural company dealing with chemical sales. Over ten years, he stole products from his employer and sold them to a third-party broker under the guise of being part of his personal farm business, Midway Farms. He used FedEx to ship these products to addresses provided by the broker, resulting in losses exceeding $6 million.
The FBI conducted the investigation into this case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Hundscheid handled the prosecution.