On Tuesday, May 20, 2014 John H Ortmeier, 70, of Omaha, NE pleaded not guilty in Dawson county District Court in Lexington, Nebraska on three counts of theft by deception. According to court documents, he allegedly purchased 278 head of cattle for $285,072.00 on three different occasions from Lexington Livestock Company. A June 27, 2014 pre-trial conference is scheduled followed by a July 8, 2014 trial.  Also, Ortmeier is being charged as a habitual criminal, as he has convictions dating back to 1992.

Russell Ortmeier attempted to pay for the cattle with insufficient fund checks and pled no contest to issuing a check with insufficient funds on March 21, 2014. He was fined $1,000.00 and ordered to pay court costs.