Nashville Tractor owner Rickey Carter, 60, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Macon to one count of bank fraud, reports the Miami Herald. In total, three banks, SBA and manufacturing finance divisions lost $6.4 million.  According to the article, 

Carter agreed to plead guilty to a criminal charge without being indicted. The charge says Carter took out a $5 million loan from Farmers and Merchants Bank in Lakeland in 2016 that was backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. He also agreed to a $625,000 line of credit. Carter admitted he falsified financial statements in order to obtain the loan for his financially troubled tractor dealership.

He also admitted to selling 88 pieces of equipment worth more than $1.5 million that Nashville Tractor held in trust for CNH Industrial, the manufacturer of New Holland tractors; and other equipment that he held in trust for Kubota, without notifying the manufacturers. Carter then used the cash to pay Nashville Tractor’s debts. Carter also forged sale and lease contracts for 33 pieces of New Holland equipment, improperly receiving $1.25 million and then improperly selling the equipment to others without telling CNH.

Find the full report here. 

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On a monthly basis, the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers compiles and publishes the unit sales for tractors and combines, which we've broken down both monthly and annually. These tables show sales of various categories of tractor and combine units from 2004-present based on AEM data. It starts in 2004 because that is the year that Lessiter Media acquired Ag Equipment Intelligence (then called Ag Industry Watch). Please note that a paid subscription to Ag Equipment Intelligence is required to view this exclusive content.