Bureau County farmer guilty of money laundering and bankruptcy fraud

A Bureau County farmer faces prison time and huge fines after pleading guilty to more than $2 million of money laundering and bankruptcy fraud.  David Duckworth, 40, of Buda entered his guilty plea Wednesday in federal court in Peoria.  In 2008, he got a $1.1 million loan from the Bank of Toulon using stored grain and future grain as collateral.  The bank didn't know that Duckworth had sold those grains using other names to avoid bank liens.  The next year, he got another loan for $950,000, again using grain as collateral.  But he had also sold his grain again using different names.  He also lied about money in a hidden accounty during his bankruptcy.  Duckworth will be sentended December 12th and faces up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.