A Clovis fruit broker was sentenced May 27 to one year of probation and ordered to pay $656,000 in restitution for his role in a crop insurance fraud scheme that bilked insurers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, federal prosecutors told GV Wire.

The DOJ said in November 2024 that Ralph Hackett must also pay an additional $605,000 in a civil settlement.

Hackett, 69, pleaded guilty to conspiring with a Fresno County farmer to falsify crop sales records between 2012 and 2016.

Prosecutors said Hackett helped underreport the sale of table grapes to make it appear the farm had suffered significant losses, allowing the owners to collect unearned insurance payouts.

The scheme was led by Jatinderjeet “Jyoti” Sihota, 40, of Selma, who was sentenced earlier this month to one year in prison.

According to court documents, Sihota directed Hackett to make the false entries and encouraged him to conceal the fraud.

Other brokers declined to participate when approached by Sihota, investigators said.

Hackett was charged separately. He had faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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