V.
RICO PERSONS, PARTICIPANTS, ROLES & RELATIONSHIPS
PERSON-SPECIFIC STATUTORY AND EVIDENTIARY FUNCTIONS
A RICO “person” includes any individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property. 18 U.S.C. § 1961(3). That definition establishes capacity; it does not itself establish liability under any subsection of § 1962.
SECTION 1962(c)For each asserted § 1962(c) path, the record must identify a RICO person distinct from the pleaded association-in-fact enterprise and facts showing that the person took some part, directly or indirectly, in directing the enterprise’s affairs through the asserted pattern of racketeering activity. Formal title and primary responsibility are unnecessary. An outside participant satisfies the operation-or-management requirement only when the participant took some part in directing the enterprise’s affairs, rather than merely conducting the participant’s own business, supplying professional services, processing an instrument, receiving funds, or possessing knowledge of the transaction sequence. Reves v. Ernst & Young, 507 U.S. 170, 179, 183–85 (1993); St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co. v. Williamson, 224 F.3d 425, 445–47 (5th Cir. 2000).
SECTION 1962(d)For each asserted § 1962(d) path, the record must identify facts showing that the person knew of and agreed to facilitate the overall objective of a substantive violation of § 1962(a), (b), or (c). A conspirator need not personally commit every predicate act or independently satisfy the § 1962(c) operation-or-management standard. Agreement is not established solely by professional service, instrument execution, financing, receipt, parallel conduct, presence on a communication, or implementation of another person’s instruction. Civil recovery must arise from conduct independently wrongful under RICO and undertaken in furtherance of the asserted agreement. Salinas v. United States, 522 U.S. 52, 63–66 (1997); United States v. Rosenthal, 805 F.3d 523, 530–33 (5th Cir. 2015); Beck v. Prupis, 529 U.S. 494, 505–07 (2000).
PERSON-SPECIFIC PLEADING AND CONNECTED ENTERPRISE STRUCTUREThe record states the facts attributed to each proposed person separately and does not substitute collective allegations for person-specific conduct. Walker v. Beaumont Independent School District, 938 F.3d 724, 738 (5th Cir. 2019).
The enterprise analysis separately identifies the connected structure through which the associates allegedly acted together, including the common purpose, relationships, recurring functions, decision channels, and longevity sufficient to pursue the enterprise’s purpose. Crosswell v. Martinez, 120 F.4th 177, 184–88 (5th Cir. 2024); Boyle v. United States, 556 U.S. 938, 944–48 (2009).
CATEGORIES USED ON THIS PAGEPROPOSED RICO PERSON — A person for whom an asserted statutory path under § 1962(a), (b), (c), or (d) is specifically identified.
ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATE — A person or entity included in the purpose, relationship, longevity, or continuing-unit analysis. Associate status does not itself establish liability.
PREDICATE ACTOR OR COMPONENT ACTOR — A person identified by the linked CP or PC record as the actor, transmitting actor, or directing actor for a particular row.
IMPLEMENTATION OR PROFESSIONAL PARTICIPANT — A person whose documented drafting, accounting, title, closing, lending, transmission, custody, execution, or administrative conduct forms part of the factual record but is not treated as operation-or-management conduct or conspiracy agreement without additional person-specific evidence.
CAUSATION, INJURY, OR AUTHENTICATION WITNESS — A person or entity whose records or acts establish execution, transmission, receipt, property movement, economic consequence, record custody, or authentication without independently establishing RICO liability.
TABLE A | PROPOSED RICO PERSONS AND ASSERTED STATUTORY PATHS
Only persons for whom an asserted § 1962(a), (b), (c), or (d) path is specifically identified appear in this table.
| PERSON | LEGAL IDENTITY | ASSERTED STATUTORY PATH | ENTERPRISE-AFFAIRS DIRECTION | AGREEMENT EVIDENCE | LINKED CP | PC RECORD | CLAIMANT-SPECIFIC INJURY LINK | SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BANK OF THE WEST | California-chartered bank, "Member FDIC"; operating lender under the 8/3/2018 joint-and-several loan and security agreement | §§ 1962(c) and (d) asserted | Identified enterprise decisions: set the maturity on its 1/5/2022 instrument; controlled the sweep and the sole reporting channel; fixed the forbearance calendar (decree by 10/31/2022; purchase-and-sale agreement by 11/30/2022); designated the exit credit; issued the 2/17/2023 wire directions applied at the Heifer Ranch closing. | Section 5 of the January 2022 Modification provided for the O&B Farms, Inc. sale-and-buy-back structure with a $2,500,000 paydown. The instrument’s terms are the identified adoption evidence; documents carrying a sequence are not themselves treated as agreement. | PC-3 · PC-5 · PC-7 · CP-5 | Two Sisters Dairy LLC: operating line retired to $0.00 on 2/23/2023 from herd proceeds ($3,710,169.69); Anastasia Anne Thiele: land proceeds ($2,436,233.94) applied to the same payoff; $20,000 and $100,000 fees collected. | EV-0294, EV-0311, EV-0393, EV-0631, EV-0645 |
| SALISBURY, J | Natural person; Vice President, Agricultural Managed Assets, Bank of the West (Sacramento) | Person-specific predicate and § 1962(c) direction record | Stated the $6,146,401.90 balance first stated during the June–July reporting gap (7/8/2022); announced the sweep off; requested confidentiality; designated the account an “exit credit” (7/15/2022); made the 8/2/2022 appraisal-scope representation; telephoned Ghorbani, I when Thiele, A raised an independent broker. | Receipt of Confidential Marketing Agreement Version B (10/31/2022) and presence on the closing-day confirmation loop are implementation facts; they are not treated as § 1962(d) agreement. | CP-2 · CP-3 · PC-5 · PC-6 | APPRAISAL-SCOPE RECORD | The balance administered through demand, forbearance, and liquidation against the claimants’ property and credit. | EV-0294, EV-0353, EV-0645 |
| AGTEXAS FARM CREDIT SERVICES | Federal Land Credit Association chartered under the Farm Credit Act; FCA-regulated; charter family 7998 — a distinct chartered person from Central Texas Farm Credit, ACA (charter 8074) and Lone Star, FLCA/PCA (charter 7937) | §§ 1962(c) and (d) — institutional direction and agreement paths; one exact chartered legal person per attribution | Exercise of the consent and acceleration gate, stated separately from ordinary lending: denied the 2019 collateral-access request; issued the 3/2023 buyer-specific consent naming “Tony Martins… or any other entity of which Tony Martins is a principal” while preserving Anastasia Anne Thiele’s liability. FLCA identity is confirmed on the September 16, 2021 instruments. | Actual knowledge and adoption of the objective are not established by nondisclosure of its financing of the named buyer or by instrument-to-instrument timing; those remain implementation and relationship facts. | CP-7 | BUYER-SPECIFIC CONSENT RECORD (the consenting Farm Credit institution, through the Rosipal officer channel) | Consent executed without disclosure of more than $22,000,000 of institution-to-buyer financing; $703,840.60 and $740,007.30 received from the two closings. | EV-0055, EV-0642, EV-0643, EV-0644, EV-0646, EV-0647, EV-0648 |
| ROSIPAL, J | Natural person; Assistant Vice President, AgTexas (NMLS 1619347) | Identified CP-7 officer channel | Exercised the institutional consent gate: wrote 3/29/2023, 10:53 AM, “Upon brief review, AgTexas does not waive our option and right to declare the Balance due.” | Agreement beyond institutional execution is not presently established. | CP-7 | The consent position stated while the institution’s financing of the named buyer went undisclosed on the thread. | EV-0647 |
| KLAAS TALSMA | Natural person; d/b/a Talsma Dairy and d/b/a Frisia Farms (assumed names under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 71 — conferring no entity status or corporate authority, § 71.203); held no membership interest or manager appointment in Two Sisters Dairy, LLC | §§ 1962(c) and (d) asserted | Directed enterprise affairs of record: asserted the written 2-of-3 governance rule (2/16/2020) over the single-member company; ordered the records lockout (4/11/2022); signed the 12/31/2022 Position Report ($44/ton against the $88/ton same-season price; 10,776.98 tons against the decree exhibit’s 20,000); executed the liquidation contract (1/26/2023); signed the draw amendment unilaterally (11/3/2022). | Wrote 11/17–18/2021: “Isaac came up with a good plan to structure an LP / Then, you and him came up with the plan to sell the heiferranch” and “move forward or not with the plan you and Isaac came up with”; defended the reporting channel 12/18/2021. | CP-8 | JULY 2024 ALLOCATION AND ROUTING RECORD · CP-5 · PC-4 · PC-9 · PC-12 · PC-15 | Two Sisters Dairy LLC: revenue and creditor-pool routing; $866,000 withdrawn from the proceeds pool. Anastasia Anne Thiele: $4,450,000 closing allocation; $3,814,738.56 to his qualified intermediary; $963,830.47 and $633,701.36 into his accounts; the $32,000/month ranch lease-back position. | EV-0213, EV-0252, EV-0289, EV-0344, EV-0379, EV-0437, EV-0506, EV-0507, EV-0521 |
| ISAAC GHORBANI | Natural person; recorded "CFO / General Manager" title (Erath 2019-04503 and assumed-name filing) with no company instrument granting it; not court-appointed — the 8/17/2022 Agreed Temporary Orders direct only that payments be "disbursed" by him | §§ 1962(c) and (d) asserted | Directed enterprise affairs of record: sole position-report channel to the lender from 11/30/2021; enforced the 4/11/2022 lockout; directed 100% of net proceeds at the 2023 closing; directed the herd-proceeds routing (1/26/2023, copying Salisbury, J); drafted the Good Faith Agreement exclusivity; issued the written allocation direction of 7/18/2024. His records-custody role at Two Sisters Dairy LLC and his role in the operator’s entities are stated as distinct relationships. | Wrote “the deal we are working on … which should net a paydown” to Pelster, R (12/1/2021); proposed the agreed-order “sale and repurchase” (12/7/2021); wrote “ruin any opportunity klaas and I have to pursue our goals” (2/15/2022); wrote “Yes, 50% of the net proceeds need to go into Klaas account at Citibank” (7/18/2024), eight days before closing. | PC-2 (routing) · PC-4 · PC-13 | CP-8 FRAUD EXECUTION/OBJECT RECORD · CP-7 | TRANSMISSION RECORD | $747,015.08 dual compensation ($450,000 severance + $297,015.08 commission), part taken in equipment; releases executed effective the closing date. | EV-0172, EV-0184, EV-0260, EV-0262, EV-0289, EV-0382, EV-0503, EV-0647 |
| TONY MARTINS | Natural person (Tony Martins); principal of the four entities below | Proposed acquisition-side person; § 1962(d) agreement evidence identified | Possession, financing, purchase, and receipt establish role and benefit; they are not alone treated as § 1962(c) operation or management. | The identified instruction to “work the deal between ourselves,” combined with pre-disclosure AgTexas financing (from 9/16/2021), the Good Faith Agreement exclusivity (executed 1/30/2023), possession approximately fifteen months before closing (4/7/2023), the excluded-asset dealings, and the acquisition and refinancing — the objective allegedly known and agreed to facilitate is the transfer of the operating position to his affiliated entities on the pre-financed structure. | Financing and possession-timing evidence | The $13,750,000 combined acquisition; possession-before-purchase of the operation. | EV-0397, EV-0420, EV-0642, EV-0644 |
| O&B FARMS, INC. | Corporation; president Oosterhof, J; creditor of Talsma, K of record since 2013 (deeds of trust 2019-01093, 2019-01688 on Two Sisters land) | Transaction and possible-agreement analysis | No § 1962(c) direction asserted on the present record. | Prior creditor relationship with the operator; same-day financed acquisition of the Heifer Ranch (2/22/2023); seventeen-month intermediary title hold; $32,000/month lease-back; onward conveyance to the transferee — evaluated as knowledge-or-agreement evidence concerning the sale-and-repurchase structure that Section 5 of the January 2022 Modification provided for. | CP-6 | CAUSATION-BRIDGE RECORD | Seller land moved through an existing operator creditor to the transferee. | EV-0345, EV-0400, EV-0515, EV-0624, EV-0625, EV-0631 |
| OOSTERHOF, J | Natural person (signing name Jelle); President of O&B Farms, Inc. | Conditional — person-specific knowledge required | Signing for O&B Farms, Inc. establishes execution; it does not alone establish direction of enterprise affairs. | The December 2021 drafting relationship is identified as potential agreement evidence. | CP-6 | CAUSATION-BRIDGE RECORD | Execution of the intermediary acquisition and onward-transfer instruments. | EV-0400, EV-0625 |
TABLE B | ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES AND RELATIONSHIP EVIDENCE
Persons and entities used to prove purpose, relationships, longevity, recurring functions, connected structure, and continuing unit. This table does not itself assert liability.
| PERSON OR ENTITY | LEGAL IDENTITY | DOCUMENTED RELATIONSHIP AND CONDUCT | EVIDENTIARY USE | SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMO Bank, N.A. | National banking association; acquired Bank of the West 2/1/2023; its closing-day signature block states "Bank of the West is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A." | Successor seller-side lender; buyer-side acquisition lender at the 2024 closing Financed 3T Martins Farm Hico, LLC at the 7/26/2024 closing; recorded Deeds of Trust No. 2024-04200 ($15,000,000) and No. 2024-05562 ($2,000,000); filed UCC-1 24-0044256249 Released its predecessor's liens 3/17/2023, then recited first priority on its own 2024 instruments; terminated instrument-for-instrument against the AgTexas, FLCA takeout (UCC-3 2600309107; releases 2026-00449 / 2026-00450) | Institutional succession, acquisition-financing, lien, and release-sequence relationship evidence; no asserted § 1962(c) or (d) path on the present record | EV-0519, EV-0523, EV-0646, EV-0651, EV-0652 |
| Pelster, R | Natural person; Vice President / Senior Relationship Manager, Bank of the West (Fresno) | Relationship officer on the operating line, 2018–2021 Sent the 9/26/2018 term-loan refusal asserting the first-lien requirement; transmitted the 3/26/2021 covenant waiver with the Borden proceeds assignment in one package; transmitted the $800,000 Advance 7/30/2021 to Talsma, K and Ghorbani, I rather than to Thiele, A, the named required signatory Received the 7/19/2019 special-assets pledge from Ghorbani, I (cc Talsma, K); received "the deal we are working on … which should net a paydown" 12/1/2021 | CP-1 · PC-1 — communication and transmission record; receipt of “the deal we are working on” supports knowledge, and receipt is not adoption | EV-0165, EV-0234, EV-0260, EV-0640, EV-0649, EV-0650 |
| Zepponi, M | Natural person; Vice President, Bank of the West (Sacramento) | Collateral and consent-routing officer, 2019–2020 Wrote 8/21/2019: "As soon as you get the Consent to Easement back from AgTexas we can move forward" — routing the bank instrument through Ghorbani, I; circulated the 2020 loan extension The recording of Deed of Trust No. 2019-05501 proceeded 9/19/2019 — twenty-eight days after his stated condition — after AgTexas, FLCA denied the consent | PC-2 — consent-gate communication and collateral-channel evidence; the post-denial recording sequence is chronology, not agreement evidence | EV-0186, EV-0641, EV-0648; Erath Doc 2019-05501 |
| AgTexas, PCA | Production Credit Association affiliated with AgTexas Farm Credit Services; FCA-regulated | Early-period credit channel on the claimant-side credit or collateral relationship Vendor's-lien assignee on the 6/6/2013 Talsma, K → Thiele, A warranty deed; counterpart on her 2013 $300,000 operating line The 2013 loan file formed the institutional baseline later re-papered on the buyer side | 2013 credit-relationship and longevity evidence | EV-0055, EV-0084, EV-0085 |
| Alleva, C | Natural person; AgTexas officer | Loan-file officer on both ends of the span Built the member's 2013 loan file; personally executed nineteen recorded instruments for the transferee group between 3/21/2025 and 5/5/2026 Recurring officer involvement across both files; does not itself establish agreement | Recurring officer involvement across both ends of the period — continuity and relationship evidence; does not itself establish agreement | EV-0055, EV-0646 |
| 3 T Martins Farm LLC | Idaho limited liability company | Borrower on AgTexas, FLCA loans 5858550 ($11,493,344) and 5858560 ($2,606,656), both dated 9/16/2021; tenant under the Dairy Lease Held possession under the lease effective 4/7/2023 Its financing predated the divorce petition by six days and the buyer introduction by fifteen months | Acquisition-platform evidence (borrowing; leasehold possession); no entity-specific decision evidence | EV-0420, EV-0642; Erath Doc 2026-02142 § 2(b) |
| 3T Martins Farm Hico, LLC | Texas limited liability company | Grantee of the 2024 acquisition; BMO Bank, N.A. borrower Took title 7/26/2024; granted Deeds of Trust No. 2024-04200 and No. 2024-05562 Acquired at closing that reported $0.00 cash to the identified seller financed at $17,000,000 recorded | Grantee and borrower position; acquired the property in the closing at which the settlement record reported $0.00 cash to the identified seller | EV-0515, EV-0519, EV-0523 |
| TMC Equipment, LLC | Texas limited liability company (purchases of record also under the name "TMC Dairies") | Equipment and feed acquisition channel Borrower on AgTexas loan 5858570 ($920,628, 9/16/2021); purchased equipment ($221,100; $40,500) and feed ($240,056.74; $60,514.08) Its purchases moved the claimants' equipment and feed into the acquiring group before and outside the 2024 contract | Asset-transfer-channel evidence | EV-0421, EV-0424, EV-0642 |
| TJLR Properties LLC | Texas limited liability company, SOS No. 0804732378, formed 9/16/2022 | Acquisition-structure entity — Formed three days before the appraisal effective date and 105 days before the buyer's introduction of record | Formation-timing and relationship evidence; formation timing alone is neither operation/management nor agreement | EV-0304, EV-0305, EV-0308 |
| McDonald, T | Natural person; trustee | Trustee under security instruments affecting the claimant-side property and the Martins-affiliated borrower structure — Named trustee under Thiele, A's 2018 AgTexas deed of trust (note 961038, Doc 2018-06706) and under the 2021–2022 buyer-side security instruments | Recurring trustee role on both security structures — relationship evidence; not operation/management or agreement | EV-0642, EV-0653 |
TABLE C | IMPLEMENTATION, PROFESSIONAL, AND CUSTODIAL PARTICIPANTS
Documented drafting, transmission, notarization, administration, filing, custody, payoff processing, tax preparation, and ordinary professional functions remain fully visible without being labeled § 1962(c) direction or § 1962(d) agreement.
| PERSON OR ENTITY | LEGAL IDENTITY | DOCUMENTED IMPLEMENTATION CONDUCT | EVIDENTIARY USE | SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binner, D | Natural person; Bank of the West officer | Appraisal commissioning Commissioned the WT Appraisal assignment (Job 22-973) delivered as a 1,436.178-acre whole-operation valuation, effective 9/19/2022 The engagement proceeded under the represented single-tract scope. | Implementation evidence · PC-6 | APPRAISAL-SCOPE RECORD | EV-0307, EV-0317, EV-0638 |
| Boesen, D | Natural person; Senior Vice President, Bank of the West (Omaha) | Wire-direction officer at the 2023 closing Issued the 2/17/2023 4:28 PM wire instructions directing $2,778,895.49 to the bank's Commercial Loan Servicing Account for application to Loan No. 1060892136-208 Addressee of the settlement agent's closing-day confirmation, with Thiele, A cc-only | CP-6 | POTENTIAL CAUSATION-BRIDGE EVIDENCE — the wire instruction and settlement confirmation do not themselves establish § 1962(d) agreement | EV-0391, EV-0393, EV-0401 |
| McCann, S | Natural person; AgTexas officer | Consent recipient; payoff administration on note 961038 — Received the executed consent; administered the 7/26/2024 payoff and release on note 961038. | Implementation facts (consent receipt; payoff and release administration on note 961038) | EV-0507, EV-0517, EV-0647 |
| Bonnema, H | Natural person; O&B Farms, Inc. principal | Principal of the intermediary — Principal of the entity executing the provided for structure. | Status-only evidence (entity principal) | EV-0653 |
| King Title Company | Texas title and abstract company (of record also as King Abstract), Stephenville, Texas; settlement agent from the claimants' 2013 closings through 2024 | Closing, escrow, and disbursement administrator Prepared and administered HUD-1 File 22-36290 and HUD-1 File 24-39066 — both closing at Line 603 $0.00 to seller; transmitted the lender-selected closing date; record-and-return on Deeds of Trust No. 2024-04200 and No. 2024-05562 Ran every disbursement line of both waterfalls as instructed by the lender instruments and the Disbursement Agreement | Professional execution and custody: settlement preparation, escrow administration, recording, disbursement · CP-6 and CP-8 | EXECUTION OR CUSTODIAL RECORD | EV-0400, EV-0506, EV-0507 |
| Wilson, L | Natural person; escrow officer, King Title Company; Texas notary ID 12658138-6 | Closing officer on both files Signed the closing-day confirmation to Boesen, D ("We have now closed and funded the transaction…") with Thiele, A cc-only; moved the seller instruments by UPS 2nd Day Air (tracking 1Z FR9 293 02 9902 1305) Notarized Talsma, K's 10/27/2021 acknowledgment of the seven-tract Deed of Trust No. 2021-08375 — the officer closing the dispositions also notarized the instrument that spread the collateral | Execution and chronology evidence (closing communications, document transmission, notarization of the 2021 deed of trust); not agreement | EV-0400, EV-0401, EV-0507 |
| Riordan, M | Natural person; attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP (Houston), counsel to Bank of the West | Default-demand channel Transmitted the Notice of Default and Demand for Payment 8/9/2022 "Via FedEx Overnight Delivery" to Hico, Texas and Lake Worth, Florida, demanding $6,146,401.90 — the balance first stated during the reporting gap to the cent Sent instrument drafts directly to Ghorbani, I | Legal-transmission and CP-4 execution record; the register’s open causer question concerns the bank’s scheme and intent — transmitting a client’s demand does not make counsel the predicate actor absent independent knowledge and agreement | EV-0300 |
| Boucher, Morgan & Young, P.C. | Texas professional corporation; accountants to the operation from 2013 | Accounting and tax-attribution channel — Prepared the returns and schedules the lenders' files consumed: the FYE2023 asset detail coding $24,627,831 under Talsma, K's SSN; held the CMA ¶ 4 tax true-up (not performed); filed the 2023 return 183 days late; firm personnel on the five-party consent thread | Accounting and tax implementation and record custody; any § 1962(d) theory requires firm-specific evidence of knowledge and agreement to the overall objective | EV-0233, EV-0351, EV-0647 |
| Misegadis, L | Natural person (Lynda); accountant, Boucher, Morgan & Young, P.C. | Asset-schedule and coding channel — Received the color-coded asset allocation from Ghorbani, I 8/11/2023; flagged assets 119–124 ($310,000) as Thiele, A's on 8/14/2023 and received the same-day agreement ("Yes, I agree those assets were retained by Anastasia…"); both filed copies still code them "Lease Purchase" | Knowledge and contradiction evidence — acknowledgment of ownership followed by persistent contrary coding; stated directly, with the resulting filing treatment preserved; not conspiracy agreement | EV-0233; FYE2023 Tax Asset Detail |
| Trygg, G | Natural person; accountant, Boucher, Morgan & Young, P.C. | Consolidation channel — Recipient of the 3/8/2021 "Combined" consolidated-statements proposal from Ghorbani, I (cc Talsma, K and Thiele, A). | Communication-receipt evidence only (the 3/8/2021 “Combined” consolidated-statements proposal) | EV-0233 |
| Taylor, M | Natural person; accountant, Boucher, Morgan & Young, P.C. | Tax-channel participant — Participant on the 2023 consent thread. | Communication-thread presence only (the 2023 consent thread); not agreement | EV-0647 |
| Vick, G | Natural person; attorney; counsel to Thiele, A in the divorce | Author of the pooling instrument — Authored the Confidential Marketing Agreement (document metadata: creator, created 10/18/2022, revision 11) pooling her separate property 50/50 and adding Two Sisters as a party; accepted her written deletion instruction 10/24/2022 ("Easy enough. Thanks") — the clause survived in both executed versions (DocuSign 63ACC05B, 10/27; 39EB65F4, 10/31) | Drafting and knowledge facts (authorship, metadata, receipt of the deletion instruction, survival of the clause) | EV-0325, EV-0327 |
| Coan & Elliott, P.C. | Texas professional corporation; transaction counsel; also Thiele, A's 2011 premarital counsel | Transaction-documentation channel, 2023–2024 — Produced the 2023–2024 contracts, consents, and releases; issued the 5/8/2024 "Conflict Waiver Letter"; the firm's channel received the 7/18/2024 Citibank allocation instruction | Transaction-documentation channel (agreements, consents, releases, waivers); not § 1962(c) or (d) without more | EV-0647, EV-0653 |
| Ward, M | Natural person; attorney, Coan & Elliott, P.C. | Drafting and consent-transmission counsel — Wrote "with you only" to Thiele, A 3/15/2023; obtained the dual-agency waiver 3/21/2023; prepared sample consent forms for AgTexas, FLCA and for O&B Farms, Inc. 3/27/2023; warned twice of acceleration on the consent thread | Drafting and transmission of the CP-7 consent forms — transmission evidence; the exact speaker, recipient, date, and wording of counsel’s meeting instruction are preserved from the source communication | EV-0647 |
| Elliott, J | Natural person; attorney, Coan & Elliott, P.C. | Firm principal on the transaction channel — Firm principal during the 2023–2024 documentation course. | Status-only evidence (firm principal during the documentation period) | EV-0653 |
TABLE D | LINKED CP | PC RECORD
Identifiers correspond to the act-specific records presented in Section IV and the person-specific records on this page.
| CP/PC ROW | REGISTER ACTOR | RELATED PERSONS AND RELATIONSHIP TO THE ROW |
|---|---|---|
| CP-1 | Bank of the West, through the Pelster communication channel | Pelster, R — communication and transmission evidence |
| CP-2 | Bank of the West (Zepponi consent-gate communication) | Zepponi, M — consent-gate communication; Salisbury, J — administration evidence |
| CP-3 | Bank of the West | Salisbury, J — exit-credit and calendar administration |
| CP-4 | Bank of the West, through counsel | Riordan, M — legal transmission and execution record |
| CP-5 | Talsma, K — position report | Bank of the West — recipient institution |
| CP-6 | Bank of the West closing channel — UPS seller-closing package | Boesen, D; O&B Farms, Inc.; Oosterhof, J; King Title Company; Wilson, L — causation-bridge, execution, or custodial evidence only |
| CP-7 | The consenting Farm Credit institution, through the Rosipal officer channel | Ghorbani, I; Coan & Elliott, P.C.; Ward, M — transmission, drafting, or channel participation evidence |
| CP-8 | Talsma, K (allocation and routing execution) | King Title Company and professional participants — execution or custodial record |
| PC-1 | — | Pelster, R — register evidence |
| PC-2 | — | Zepponi, M (consent-denial record); Ghorbani, I (routing) |
| PC-4 | — | Talsma, K; Ghorbani, I |
| PC-5 | Per the position-report record | Salisbury, J — administration evidence |
| PC-6 | — | Binner, D; Salisbury, J — commissioning and representation evidence |
| PC-9 | — | Talsma, K |
| PC-12 | — | Talsma, K |
| PC-13 | CP-8 fraud execution/object record | Ghorbani, I — execution record |
| PC-15 | — | Talsma, K |
CONNECTED ASSOCIATION-IN-FACT STRUCTURE
THE ASSERTED ASSOCIATION-IN-FACT OPERATED THROUGH IDENTIFIED CREDIT, COLLATERAL, INFORMATION, GOVERNANCE, CONSENT, TITLE, ACCOUNTING, CLOSING, ACQUISITION-FINANCING, AND REFINANCING CHANNELS.
The connected structure is established through dated relationships and recurring functions involving the same operating dairy business, company records, accounts, collateral pool, real property, business assets, proposed transferee, title files, closing proceeds, and acquired position.
The asserted enterprise is not established merely by placing all participants in one list. It is established by showing how the participants’ functions connected across successive phases of the common course:
INFORMATION AND GOVERNANCE CONTROL
→ OPERATING-CREDIT AND COLLATERAL CONTROL
→ DEFAULT AND FORBEARANCE ADMINISTRATION
→ APPRAISAL AND DISPOSITION PREPARATION
→ INTERMEDIARY TITLE AND BUYER-SPECIFIC CONSENT
→ POSSESSION AND ASSET EXCLUSION
→ CLOSING, DISBURSEMENT, AND PROCEEDS ALLOCATION
→ ACQUISITION FINANCING
→ REFINANCING AND CONTINUED LIEN MAINTENANCE
The underlying operating, credit, creditor, accounting, account, and collateral relationships existed before the documented common-purpose decision structure. Common-purpose default-and-sale planning is documented by the October 21 and November 18, 2021 communications. Implementation continued through the July 2024 acquisition and the November 2025–May 2026 refinancing and release instruments.
CORE ENTERPRISE FUNCTIONS
| ASSOCIATE | ENTERPRISE FUNCTION |
|---|---|
| BANK OF THE WEST | Operating-credit, collateral, reporting, maturity, default, forbearance, appraisal, liquidation, payoff, and wire-direction channel. |
| BMO BANK, N.A. | Successor institution, acquisition-financing lender, holder of post-transfer liens, and releasing institution in the AgTexas refinancing sequence. |
| AGTEXAS FARM CREDIT SYSTEM PERSONS | Senior-lien and collateral gate; Martins-affiliated financing beginning September 16, 2021; buyer-specific consent and acceleration decisions; payoff receipt; refinancing and continued lien maintenance. |
| TALSMA, K | Dairy operator and joint borrower; asserted governance authority; records-lockout originator; default-and-sale planner; liquidation participant; recipient of property allocations, proceeds, and account transfers. |
| GHORBANI, I | Company-information custodian; position-report conduit; lender and professional communication channel; transaction drafter and operator; asset-allocation and proceeds-direction participant. |
| MARTINS, T AND MARTINS-AFFILIATED ENTITIES | Pre-financed transferee structure; exclusive buyer; pre-closing possessor; recipient of excluded equipment and feed; acquisition borrower; holder of the acquired and refinanced operating position. |
| O&B FARMS, INC. AND IDENTIFIED PRINCIPALS | Pre-existing creditor; intermediary titleholder; lease-back counterparty; onward transferor within the Heifer Ranch acquisition sequence. |
| KING TITLE COMPANY AND WILSON, L | Title, escrow, execution, closing, recordation, and disbursement channel for the February 2023 and July 2024 transactions. |
| BOUCHER, MORGAN & YOUNG, P.C. AND IDENTIFIED PERSONNEL | Accounting, asset-coding, tax-allocation, return-preparation, and required true-up channel. |
| VICK, G | COAN & ELLIOTT, P.C. | IDENTIFIED ATTORNEYS | Pooling-instrument authorship; agency, consent, sale, release, conflict-waiver, and transaction-documentation channels. |
| OTHER IDENTIFIED IMPLEMENTATION PARTICIPANTS | Trustees, valuation professionals, auction personnel, lender counsel, note counterparties, and record custodians whose acts support enterprise structure, agreement, predicate execution, causation, injury, financial tracing, or authentication. |
ACTOR-TO-ACTOR RELATIONSHIP RECORD
CORE CONTROL, CREDIT, TRANSFER, AND FINANCING RELATIONSHIPS
| ACTOR A | ACTOR B | DATED CONNECTION | CONNECTED ENTERPRISE FUNCTION | DOCUMENTED RESULT | SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talsma, K | Ghorbani, I | February 16, 2020 two-of-three directive; October 21 and November 18, 2021 communications; April 11, 2022 instruction and compliance | Unauthorized decision structure, default-and-sale planning, and control of company information | The two men asserted a decision mechanism over the single-member company; Ghorbani complied with Talsma’s written order withholding the company’s records | EV-0213 | EV-0252 | EV-0260 | EV-0289 |
| Bank of the West | Ghorbani, I | July 19, 2019 special-assets communication; July 30, 2021 Advance transmission; position-report channel beginning November 30, 2021 | Lender communication, financial reporting, instrument routing, and access to the required company signatory | Company and borrower information moved through Ghorbani; the $800,000 Advance reached Thiele only through his forward; the located instrument contains blank borrower-signature lines | EV-0640 | EV-0650 |
| Bank of the West | AgTexas Farm Credit Services | August 21–22, 2019 Consent to Easement process; September 19, 2019 recording | Interinstitutional collateral-access and senior-lien relationship | AgTexas denied and did not execute the requested consent; Bank of the West recorded Deed of Trust No. 2019-05501 twenty-eight days later | EV-0186 | EV-0648 | DEED OF TRUST NO. 2019-05501 |
| Bank of the West | O&B Farms, Inc. | January 5, 2022 Modification § 5; February 17–22, 2023 closing and wire communications | Lender-prescribed O&B sale-and-repurchase structure and secured-debt payoff | The Modification expressly set out the O&B Farms sale-and-buy-back structure and required paydown; the later closing transferred title to O&B and directed $2,778,895.49 to the bank | EV-0391 | EV-0393 | EV-0631 |
| AgTexas, FLCA | 3 T Martins Farm LLC | September 16, 2021 loans 5858550 and 5858560; May 12, 2023 loan 6270070 | Financing of the transferee group before disclosure and before completed acquisition | $14,100,000 was extended six days before the divorce petition; another $8,500,000 was extended five days before execution of the lease carrying the April 7 effective possession date | EV-0642 | EV-0644 | ERATH DOC. 2026-02142 § 2(b) |
| AgTexas, FLCA | TMC Equipment, LLC | September 16, 2021 loan 5858570 | Equipment-side financing of the acquiring group | Equipment financing was established on the same date as the principal Martins-affiliated land and operating loans | EV-0642 |
| AgTexas institution | Martins, T and identified entities | March 27–29, 2023 consent process and underlying financing record | Exercise of the senior-lien consent and acceleration gate in favor of the specified transferee class | The institution preserved Thiele’s liability while authorizing possession and purchase rights for Martins, 3 T Martins Farm, or another Martins-controlled entity; its prior Martins-affiliated financing was not disclosed on the consent thread | EV-0642 | EV-0647 |
| Ghorbani, I | Martins, T | January 28–30, 2023 Good Faith Agreement; February 20, 2023 cattle communication; April 7, 2023 Dairy Assumption communication | Exclusivity, separation of cattle, possession, and excluded-asset arrangements | Martins received exclusivity and possession; Ghorbani stated that identified assets would be removed from the sale and handled directly between them | EV-0397 | EV-0398 | APRIL 7, 2023 DAIRY ASSUMPTION EMAIL |
| O&B Farms, Inc. | 3T Martins Farm Hico, LLC | July 25–26, 2024 Special Bill of Sale and deed | Onward transfer of the interposed Heifer Ranch title into the acquisition structure | O&B’s seventeen-month title position closed into the Martins-affiliated acquisition and the BMO-financed collateral pool | EV-0515 | EV-0625 |
| BMO Bank, N.A. | 3T Martins Farm Hico, LLC | July 26–29 and October 11, 2024 acquisition instruments | Acquisition financing and post-transfer real-property and equipment liens | BMO recorded $17,000,000 in deeds of trust associated with the acquisition and filed the equipment-and-fixtures UCC | EV-0519 | EV-0523 |
| AgTexas institution | BMO Bank, N.A. | November 26, 2025 loan 6811410; January 15 and January 29, 2026 terminations and releases | Refinancing and replacement of the acquisition-financing position | AgTexas extended the $33,000,000 refinancing; BMO terminated its UCC and released its deeds of trust in the corresponding takeout sequence | EV-0646 |
INFORMATION, PROFESSIONAL, TITLE, ACCOUNTING, AND IMPLEMENTATION RELATIONSHIPS
| ACTOR A | ACTOR B | DATED CONNECTION | EVIDENTIARY FUNCTION | DOCUMENTED RESULT | SUPPORT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zepponi, M | Ghorbani, I | August 21, 2019 email | Routing of the interinstitutional consent request through the internal communication channel | The bank’s condition was communicated through a person holding no member or manager appointment | EV-0648 |
| Salisbury, J | Ghorbani, I | Position-report channel beginning November 30, 2021; July 8, 2022 balance, sweep, and confidentiality communication; broker-call record | Default administration, reporting, and transaction communication | The $6,146,401.90 balance was transmitted and administered through the non-owner reporting channel after the books lockout | EV-0294 | EV-0353 | EV-0645 |
| Ghorbani, I | Salisbury, J | October 31, 2022 transmission of CMA Version B | Delivery of the pooling instrument into the lender’s forbearance and disposition process | The lender received the liquidation instrument on the deadline imposed by its forbearance calendar | DOCUSIGN 39EB65F4 |
| Wilson, L | Boesen, D | February 22, 2023 closing confirmation | Closing, funding, and lender-notification channel | The Heifer Ranch closing distributed funds to the institutional payees and reported $0.00 cash to the identified seller; Thiele was copied on the completed-funding notice | EV-0400 | EV-0401 |
| Ward, M | Rosipal, J | March 27–29, 2023 consent thread | Drafting and transmission of the creditor-consent instruments | The resulting consent preserved Thiele’s liability while allowing the specified Martins-related transfer structure | EV-0647 |
| Ghorbani, I | Trygg, G | March 8, 2021 “Combined” proposal | Consolidated financial-reporting channel | Combined statements entered the accounting and lender-reporting structure | EV-0233 |
| Ghorbani, I | Misegadis, L | August 11–14, 2023 coding exchange | Asset ownership, classification, and tax-schedule channel | Assets identified and acknowledged as Thiele’s remained coded as “Lease Purchase” in the filed schedules | EV-0233 | FYE2023 TAX ASSET DETAIL |
| Proton Power, Inc. | Bank of the West | July 25, 2019 Allonge; July 31, 2021 collateral assignment; October 26, 2021 acknowledgment | Transfer of the company’s note receivable into the bank’s collateral | The $3,970,000 receivable was endorsed and assigned to Bank of the West | EV-0191 | EV-0195 | EV-0249 | EV-0253 | EV-0630 |
| McDonald, T | AgTexas legal persons | 2018 seller-side deed of trust and 2021–2022 transferee-side instruments | Recurring trustee identity across the collateral instruments | The same individual was named trustee in security instruments affecting the claimant-side property and the Martins-affiliated borrower structure | EV-0642 | EV-0653 |
The professional and implementation relationships are part of the asserted enterprise and agreement record according to the complete course. Their inclusion does not rest solely on professional status. Each identified function is connected to the relevant communication, instrument, decision channel, transaction phase, affected property, and result.
SECTION 1962(c) | PERSON-SPECIFIC OPERATION OR MANAGEMENT
The § 1962(c) inquiry is person specific. Enterprise membership, benefit, knowledge, professional participation, or execution does not replace the requirement that the person took some part in directing the enterprise’s affairs. Direction may be direct or indirect and does not require formal title or primary control.
DIRECT DIRECTION FACTS
Governance, company-information access, liquidation, and allocation.
DATED DIRECTION FACTS- February 16, 2020: asserted a two-of-three decision rule over a single-member company in which he held no membership or manager position.
- October–November 2021: communicated the default-and-sale window and the plan developed with Ghorbani.
- April 11, 2022: ordered Ghorbani not to provide company information to Thiele or her counsel.
- January 26, 2023: executed the liquidation contract.
- July 2024: participated in the allocation and proceeds structure under which value was directed to his intermediary and accounts.
The operator exercised practical decision and information authority over company affairs, participated in disposition decisions, and received identified transaction value.
SUPPORTEV-0213 | EV-0252 | EV-0289 | EV-0344 | EV-0379 | EV-0506 | EV-0507
Information custody, lender reporting, transaction access, exclusivity, asset allocation, excluded-property arrangements, and proceeds directions.
DATED DIRECTION FACTS- Used the recorded titles “CFO / General Manager” and “Farm Finance and Systems Manager” without a company instrument appointing him as Member or Manager.
- Served as the position-report and lender communication channel.
- Implemented the April 11, 2022 records lockout.
- Drafted or transmitted the Good Faith Agreement and controlled transaction communications.
- Supplied asset-allocation instructions to accounting and transaction professionals.
- Directed that 50% of net proceeds enter Talsma’s Citibank account.
- Directed or transmitted closing and proceeds instructions.
The information and transaction channel displaced the recorded owner’s access and placed Ghorbani between the company, lenders, buyer, accountants, attorneys, and closing participants.
SUPPORTEV-0172 | EV-0184 | EV-0185 | EV-0260 | EV-0289 | EV-0382 | EV-0503 | EV-0647
Operating credit, account sweep, reporting, maturity, default, forbearance, appraisal, disposition calendar, payoff, and closing wires.
DATED DIRECTION FACTS- Controlled the reporting and sweep structure.
- Fixed the maturity through the January 5, 2022 instrument.
- Declared and enforced the maturity default.
- Classified the account as an exit credit.
- Conditioned continued forbearance on entry of the decree by October 31, 2022 and execution of a purchase-and-sale agreement by November 30, 2022.
- Commissioned the whole-operation appraisal.
- Issued the February 2023 payoff and wire directions.
The institution exercised decision authority over the credit, collateral, timing, valuation, payoff, and disposition mechanisms through which the asserted enterprise’s affairs proceeded.
SUPPORTEV-0294 | EV-0300 | EV-0307 | EV-0311 | EV-0391 | EV-0393 | EV-0631 | EV-0645
INSTITUTIONAL AND TRANSACTION DIRECTION PATHS
Senior-lien control, consent and acceleration authority, buyer financing, transaction approval, refinancing, and continued lien maintenance.
DIRECTION FACTS- Exercised the 2019 senior-lien consent gate.
- Financed Martins-affiliated entities beginning September 16, 2021.
- Reviewed the Martins-specific lease and sales contracts.
- Preserved acceleration and liability rights before issuing the buyer-specific consent.
- Received payoffs from both claimant-side closings.
- Refinanced the acquired position and continued modifying the Martins-affiliated facility.
The institutional consent, financing, and refinancing decisions form the asserted direction path.
SUPPORTEV-0055 | EV-0642 | EV-0643 | EV-0644 | EV-0646 | EV-0647 | EV-0648
Acquisition financing, post-transfer lien creation, and release of the position taken out by AgTexas.
DIRECTION FACTS- Financed the Martins-affiliated acquisition.
- Recorded the real-property deeds of trust and equipment-and-fixtures UCC.
- Collected identified closing fees.
- Terminated and released the financing position in the AgTexas takeout.
The institution’s own instruments carry the acquisition-financing and release decisions.
SUPPORTEV-0519 | EV-0523 | EV-0646 | EV-0651 | EV-0652
Transferee selection, exclusivity, possession, excluded-asset dealings, acquisition, and refinancing.
DIRECTION FACTS- Received financing before introduction to the claimant.
- Executed the Good Faith exclusivity arrangement.
- Participated in the direct excluded-asset dealings.
- Took possession effective April 7, 2023.
- Completed the acquisition through affiliated entities.
- Maintained the acquired position through subsequent refinancing.
The transferee position was pre-financed, exclusive, possessory before closing, and maintained through refinancing.
SUPPORTEV-0397 | EV-0420 | EV-0421 | EV-0424 | EV-0642 | EV-0644
Intermediary title, seller-side payoff, lease-back, and onward transfer.
DIRECTION FACTS- Acquired the Heifer Ranch using same-day borrowed funds.
- Held title during the buyer-preparation and possession period.
- Leased the ranch back for $32,000 per month.
- Conveyed the property onward into the Martins-affiliated acquisition.
The intermediary title position connected the seller-side closing to the Martins-affiliated acquisition.
SUPPORTEV-0345 | EV-0400 | EV-0515 | EV-0624 | EV-0625 | EV-0631
IMPLEMENTATION FACTS PRESERVED WITHOUT SUBSTITUTING THEM FOR REVES DIRECTION
The following conduct remains part of the complete enterprise record:
- King Title and Wilson administered the two closings, settlement statements, disbursements, interstate seller-document shipment, recordation, and closing confirmations.
- Boucher, Morgan & Young and its personnel maintained the accounting, ownership-coding, true-up, tax-schedule, and return channels.
- Vick authored and revised the pooling instrument.
- Coan & Elliott and its identified attorneys prepared and transmitted the consent, agency, sale, release, and waiver instruments.
- Riordan transmitted the default demand and lender instruments.
- McDonald served in the identified trustee positions.
- The appraisal and auction participants performed the identified valuation, liquidation, and proceeds functions.
These acts support the asserted enterprise, agreement, predicate execution, causation, injury, and financial-tracing record. A separate § 1962(c) designation for an individual participant is tied to the additional person-specific fact showing how that participant directed some part of the enterprise’s affairs.
SECTION 1962(d) | AGREEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
AGREEMENT STANDARD APPLIED TO THE RECORD
The asserted agreement is not required to appear in a single written conspiracy instrument. It is developed from the combined course of communications, shared objectives, directions, compliance, transaction deadlines, collateral decisions, possession arrangements, closing instruments, proceeds routings, financing, releases, and refinancing.
The agreement analysis identifies:
- the substantive § 1962(a), (b), or (c) objective attributed to the person;
- the person’s knowledge of that objective;
- the communication, conduct, or instrument showing adoption or facilitation;
- the implementation function performed;
- the act of racketeering or independently wrongful RICO conduct causing the claimant-specific injury.
DIRECT AGREEMENT COMMUNICATIONS
- “The plan you and Isaac came up with.”
- The October 2021 default-and-sale communication intended for Ghorbani.
- The same-day records-lockout instruction and acknowledgment of compliance.
- Continued participation in liquidation, allocation, and proceeds receipt.
- “The deal we are working on … which should net a paydown.”
- The December 7, 2021 sale-and-repurchase proposal.
- “Ruin any opportunity Klaas and I have to pursue our goals.”
- “We will remove them from sale and work the deal between ourselves.”
- “Yes, 50% of the net proceeds need to go into Klaas account at Citibank.”
- Transaction and proceeds instructions implementing those communications.
- The Good Faith exclusivity agreement.
- The direct excluded-asset arrangement.
- Pre-closing possession and participation in equipment and feed transactions.
- Acquisition and refinancing through the affiliated entities.
INSTITUTIONAL AGREEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION RECORD
The agreement path is developed through the January 2022 O&B structure, control of the default and forbearance calendar, receipt of the CMA, appraisal and payoff administration, and the wire and closing directions that executed the disposition.
The agreement path is developed through pre-disclosure financing of the named buyer group, exercise of the consent and acceleration gate, receipt and review of the buyer-specific instruments, preservation of Thiele’s liability, approval of the transfer structure, payoff receipt, and refinancing of the acquired position.
The agreement path is developed through financing of the acquisition against the transferred property, creation of the post-transfer lien structure, collection of closing fees, and release of the position in the AgTexas takeout.
The agreement path is developed through the pre-existing creditor relationship, participation in the sale-and-repurchase structure, same-day financed title acquisition, lease-back, seventeen-month title hold, and onward transfer to the Martins-affiliated purchaser.
PERSON-SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION AND KNOWLEDGE EVIDENCE
| PERSON | IMPLEMENTATION AND KNOWLEDGE RECORD |
|---|---|
| VICK, G | Authored the pooling instrument; received and accepted the written deletion instruction; the provision survived in both executed versions. The agreement analysis connects authorship, knowledge of the owner’s instruction, the executed instrument, and the allocation course. |
| WARD, M | Participated in the agency and consent channel; obtained or transmitted the dual-agency documentation; prepared consent forms for AgTexas and O&B; communicated the acceleration consequences. The agreement analysis connects the drafting and transmission course to the buyer-specific transfer approval. |
| ROSIPAL, J | Stated the institution’s acceleration position, received the transaction instruments, and participated in the consent decision while the institution’s prior financing of the named buyer was undisclosed on the thread. |
| MCCANN, S | Received the executed consent and administered the payoff and release associated with note 961038. |
| MISEGADIS, L | Received the color-coded asset allocations, identified assets as belonging to Thiele, received written confirmation of that ownership, and participated in the accounting record in which the contrary coding remained. |
| TRYGG, G | Received the combined-statements proposal. |
| TAYLOR, M | Participated in the five-party consent communication. |
| MCDONALD, T | Occupied the trustee position in the claimant-side and Martins-affiliated security instruments. |
| OOSTERHOF, J | Executed O&B’s intermediary acquisition and onward transfer. The agreement path connects his signature authority to the pre-existing creditor relationship, lease-back, title hold, and final transfer. |
| BONNEMA, H | Identified principal of the intermediary entity. |
| ELLIOTT, J | Firm principal during the transaction-documentation course. |
| RIORDAN, M | Transmitted the FedEx default demand and sent instrument drafts through Ghorbani. |
CIVIL INJURY BRIDGE
The § 1962(d) damages path does not rest merely on the existence of an agreement or on any lawful act performed in its implementation. Each recovery class must identify the racketeering act or other conduct independently wrongful under the asserted substantive RICO violation that directly caused injury to Anastasia Anne Thiele or Two Sisters Dairy LLC.
The agreement record therefore cross-links to:
- the actor-specific predicate register;
- the claimant-owned business or property interest;
- the instrument, communication, transfer, or financial transaction;
- the immediate economic consequence;
- the quantified injury;
- and the supporting source record.
PERSON–ENTERPRISE DISTINCTNESS
THE ASSOCIATION-IN-FACT IS THE COLLECTIVE CROSS-INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE. NO INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY IS PLEADED AS THE ASSOCIATION-IN-FACT BY ITSELF.
For every asserted § 1962(c) path:
- the RICO person is identified as a specific natural person or legal entity;
- that person remains legally distinct from the collective association-in-fact;
- the person’s membership or participation does not collapse the person into the enterprise;
- Two Sisters Dairy LLC and Anastasia Anne Thiele remain outside the association-in-fact and are identified as the injured business and property holders.
LEGAL-PERSON PRECISION
| LEGAL PERSON OR GROUP | PRECISION RULE |
|---|---|
| BANK OF THE WEST | The predecessor institution responsible for the identified operating-credit, default, forbearance, appraisal, payoff, and seller-side events occurring before or through the acquisition transition. |
| BMO BANK, N.A. | The successor national banking association responsible for the acts shown on its own instruments, including acquisition financing, post-transfer liens, UCC filings, fees, terminations, and releases. The institutions may be connected through succession and a continuing institutional sequence. They are not collapsed into a single legal person for actor-specific attribution. |
| AGTEXAS FARM CREDIT PERSONS | AgTexas, FLCA and AgTexas, PCA are identified according to the chartered entity appearing on the relevant instrument. Central Texas Farm Credit, ACA and Lone Star are separate chartered institutions and are not attributed conduct based on brand resemblance. |
| MARTINS-RELATED PERSONS | Tony Martins, 3 T Martins Farm LLC, 3T Martins Farm Hico, LLC, TMC Equipment, LLC, and TJLR Properties LLC are separate legal persons. Common control and complementary transaction functions establish their relationship; they do not erase their separate identities. |
| O&B-RELATED PERSONS | O&B Farms, Inc., Oosterhof, J, and Bonnema, H are separately identified. Corporate acts are attributed to the corporation and person-specific acts to the officer or principal shown on the instrument or communication. |
| PROFESSIONAL PERSONS | King Title Company, Wilson, L, Boucher, Morgan & Young, its individual accountants, Vick, G, Coan & Elliott, and its individual attorneys are separately identified. Firm-level and individual conduct are not interchanged without the record bridge supporting attribution. |
| ASSUMED NAMES | “Talsma Dairy” and “Frisia Farms” are treated as assumed names of Talsma, K unless a separate legal entity is identified on the controlling instrument. The record includes an assumed-name filing for “Two Sisters Dairy LLC DBA Dancing Crane Dairy.” That filing establishes the recorded use of the operating name. It does not amend the LLC’s governing structure or confer member or manager authority upon the person identified as “CFO / General Manager.” |
CLAIMANT AND ENTERPRISE SEPARATION
Injured operating business and property holder. Not pleaded as the association-in-fact enterprise and not included among its associates.
Injured individual property holder and company owner. Not pleaded as the association-in-fact enterprise and not included among its associates.
CLAIMANTS | OWNERSHIP | BUSINESS-OR-PROPERTY INJURY
THE CLAIMANTS’ PROPERTY INTERESTS AND INJURIES ARE PLEADED SEPARATELY.
- 100% of the membership interests in Two Sisters Dairy LLC from January 1, 2012 through the operative transactions;
- governing authority as sole member and manager;
- separately titled real property;
- personal sale and exchange proceeds;
- contractual and governance rights;
- tax position;
- homestead title;
- cash, credit, investment capital, and reinvestment capacity.
- use and encumbrance of her separately titled property for operating obligations;
- continued personal debt, liens, and liability during the transferee’s possession and acquisition;
- disposition of the Heifer Ranch with $0.00 cash reported to her;
- allocation and routing of personal proceeds and exchange value;
- tax attribution, assessment, lien, levy, passport certification, and retention of seized funds.
Loss of property value and proceeds; continued personal liability; loss of exchange and replacement-property value; tax injury; impairment of liquidity, title, credit, investment capital, and reinvestment capacity; and seizure and retention of cash.
- operating revenue and working capital;
- company books, accounts, and financial information;
- business credit and collateral;
- land and premises interests;
- equipment and other company property;
- contract rights;
- the $3,970,000 note receivable;
- the contractual $20,000 monthly milk-check retention;
- sale and closing proceeds;
- tax attributes;
- exchange and reinvestment value;
- operating-business and enterprise value.
- exclusion from company records and administration;
- diversion of revenue and operating consideration;
- use of company property and collateral for the operating obligations;
- assignment of the company note receivable;
- disposition of equipment and business assets;
- routing of liquidation, closing, exchange, and creditor-pool proceeds;
- ownership and income coding outside the company;
- deprivation of governance, reinvestment, and operating control.
Loss of working capital, retained earnings, revenue, accounts, assets, proceeds, credit capacity, equity, tax attributes, exchange value, reinvestment capacity, expansion capacity, and operating-business value.
OWNERSHIP AND DISPLACEMENT RECORD
Anastasia Anne Thiele acquired all 200 outstanding membership units effective January 1, 2012 as separate property and held the company’s governing authority throughout the operative transactions.
The record contains the two-of-three decision rule, the “CFO / General Manager” assumed-name filing, and other titles or representations unsupported by an instrument appointing Talsma or Ghorbani as Member or Manager.
The record contains the company-books lockout, the non-owner reporting channel, account and revenue control, lender-set calendars and conditions, possession delivered before sale, professional and transaction channels operated through Ghorbani, and settlement waterfalls reporting $0.00 cash to the identified seller.
SUPPORTING RECORD | PROPOSITION-BASED SOURCE MAP
| PROPOSITION | PRINCIPAL SOURCE FAMILIES |
|---|---|
| Ownership and governing authority | 2012 Bills of Sale and Minutes; Certificate of Amendment; beneficial-ownership certification; franchise records; 2022 summary judgment; Agreed Final Decree and Exhibits A–D; July 2024 Unanimous Written Consent |
| Unauthorized authority and information control | August 2019 assumed-name instruments; February 16, 2020 two-of-three communication; October–November 2021 messages; April 11 and June 30, 2022 records communications |
| Operating credit and collateral | August 3, 2018 Loan and Security Agreement; Deeds of Trust Nos. 2019-05501 and 2021-08375; 2021 and January 2022 Modifications; $800,000 Advance; Borden proceeds assignment |
| Default and compelled disposition | July 2022 balance, sweep, freeze, confidentiality, and exit-credit communications; August 9, 2022 Notice of Default; October 28, 2022 Forbearance |
| Appraisal and transaction preparation | Bank commissioning record; WT Appraisal Job 22-973; represented 100-acre scope communications; 1,436.178-acre completed appraisal; TJLR formation record |
| Consent and buyer approval | 2019 Consent to Easement file; March 2023 consent thread, lease, sales contracts, and consent instruments |
| Herd and land liquidation | Overland Stockyards record; Liquidation Report; January–April 2023 bank records; King Title File 22-36290; payoff and wire instructions |
| Possession and excluded assets | Good Faith Agreement; Dairy Lease and options; April 7, 2023 Dairy Assumption communication; equipment and feed transactions |
| July 2024 sale and proceeds allocation | King Title File 24-39066; settlement statement; Disbursement Agreement and Exhibits B–E; qualified-intermediary records; bank-account records |
| Acquisition financing | BMO Deeds of Trust Nos. 2024-04200 and 2024-05562; UCC-1 24-0044256249; closing-fee records |
| Refinancing and release | AgTexas loan 6811410; November 2025–May 2026 financing instruments; UCC-3 2600309107; releases 2026-00449 and 2026-00450; Erath Doc. 2026-02142 |
| Accounting and tax attribution | FYE2023 Asset Detail; August 2023 coding exchanges; CMA ¶ 4 true-up requirement; filed returns; amended return; assessment, lien, levy, certification, and collection records |
| Predicate, agreement, causation, and injury mapping | Section IV Predicate Act Register; Section VII Chronology; Section VIII claimant-specific injury and causation record; Section IX financial-flow tracing |
PAGE CONTROL RULES
- Enterprise membership is not treated as automatic § 1962(c) liability.
- Implementation evidence is not substituted for § 1962(d) agreement; it is integrated with the complete knowledge and objective record.
- Professional services remain fully included according to the enterprise, agreement, predicate, causation, injury, financial-routing, or authentication proposition they support.
- No CP or PC event is reclassified on this page.
- Every institutional act is attributed to the exact legal person shown on the controlling instrument.
- Every claimant injury is assigned according to ownership of the affected business or property interest.
- The association-in-fact remains distinct from every RICO person and from both claimants.
- Two Sisters Dairy LLC remains the injured operating business and property holder — not the association-in-fact and not an enterprise participant.