<p>Two brothers who operate the North Dakota potato company Johnson Potato, have been accused in federal court of intentionally spoiling potatoes after the 2006 harvest in order to collect $800,000 in disaster payments.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The two individuals, Aaron Johnson and Derek Johnson, along with their company are charged with conspiracy and making false statements, according to ABC News. The brothers raised irrigated potatoes near Cooperstown, North Dakota and stored the crop in a nearby warehouse instead of selling them, authorities noted. Court documents do not reveal the amount of potatoes or how much the brothers could have made by selling them.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The defendants are accused of applying chemicals, including a substance known as "Rid-X" that's designed to dissolve solid materials in septic systems, while also adding spoiled and frozen potatoes to their stored crop. The actions resulted in the potatoes rotting.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"There is not a legitimate farming reason to apply frozen and already-spoiled potatoes to stored potatoes," the indictment reads.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Investigators also noted that the brothers used portable heaters to warm the warehouse above 80 degrees to speed up the spoiling, according to the report.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Once the potatoes rotted the brothers reported the loss to their insurance company stating that the crop was lost due to naturally caused diseases. Federal crop insurance covers setbacks only for "naturally occurring events" and does not cover losses due to negligence, mismanagement, or wrongdoing.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Arraignment is scheduled for February 20th for Derek Johnson and February 26th for Aaron Johnson.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we follow the progress of the case.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/feds-accuse-brothers-purposely-spoiling-spuds-22507234" target="_new"> ABC News </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
