The Drawer in the River: How a Honey Scam Broke a Town

The Drawer in the River: How a Honey Scam Broke a Town Fear and betrayal sit at the center of this story: 83 people in and around Brenfield invested over one million dollars into Callaway Valley Honey Scam, LLC - and the business was already hollow when most signed. A filing cabinet drawer full of participation certificates and investor ledgers was pulled from the Callaway River; who threw it and why is only part of the question that needs answering. In this episode, you will hear how a local cooperative pitch, beehives on a neighbor’s parcel, and agricultural language convinced townspeople to hand over life-changing sums, and how private letters and missed harvests revealed the truth - what happened to the money and who benefited? Person: Dean Erickson Location: Brenfield, Miner County Event: Discovery of filing cabinet drawer on Callaway River Case: Callaway Valley Honey Scam, LLC Amount: over one million dollars invested by 83 people - 83 investors in and around Brenfield placed over one million dollars into Callaway Valley Honey Scam, LLC. - Dean Erickson filed the LLC paperwork in January 2009 at age 44 and had kept four beehives on Walter Moss’s parcel. - Sandra Olson invested $14,000 in March 2010 after reviewing documents while working as a records coordinator at the Miner County Extension Office. - By April 2010 Erickson wrote a private letter acknowledging production had fallen to 8% of promised levels. - Approximately $0.22 of every new dollar collected in the second round (Season Four - Committed Shares) was used to pay earlier investors rather than coming from honey sales. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].