According to a June 24 report from Mankato Free Press, Kevin Ray Hewitt, president of single-store Minnesota dealership Hewitt Drainage Equipment, pled guilty to three felony counts of theft last Friday.

The report states Hewitt, who is 61, pled guilty to "accepting payments for farm equipment from three farmers, but never delivering, according to court documents. The payments ranged from $35,000 to $47,630, which Hewitt used to pay personal debts."

Hewitt was sentenced to 15 years probation, as well as "60 days in jail starting Friday, followed by 60 days on July 1 each year through 2027 in Le Sueur County Jail."

Hewitt will also have until 2037 to re-pay the $390,922 he owes to the farmers named in the case. For at least one piece of equipment Hewitt sold, he told the grower backed up production from the manufacturer was the reason for the delay in delivery.

Hewitt Drainage Equipment filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy on January 14, 2021, according to a July 30, 2021, report from Levelset. The filing claimed 56 creditors, including John Deere Credit and Ziegler CAT.

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