The details are still being released by the U.S. Attorney.
The indictment was filed Friday, April 19, it was unsealed Monday morning. The federal grand jury indicted Farmer with four counts of misappropriating property and funds of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Farmer is also charged with one county of soliciting property of value in exchange for intending to be influenced in KDA matters.
The indictment states Farmer abused his authority throughout his tenure, using KDA funds to obtain rifles, clothes, hotel rooms, computer equipment and home appliances, all for himself, friends and family.
Just last month Farmer was charged with 42 violations of the state's ethics laws during his time in Frankfort
The commission had never charged one person with this many violations before.
Seven pages of the 14-page summary were solely counts against Farmer.
The state's Executive Branch Ethics Commission accused Farmer of misusing state funds and state employees during his time in office and placing his friends in jobs that had no specified duties, asking them to carry out his personal errands.
The charges against Farmer date back to 2008. He is accused of several violations surrounding a conference with the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture. During that conference in particular, Farmer was accused of having employees misuse state funds to take visiting Agriculture Commissioners' wives on shopping trips to Fayette Mall. While buying gifts for the visiting commissioners, he allegedly kept the extras for his own personal benefit, including firearms, alcohol, candy and shirts.
Farmer is also accused of using state employees to chauffeur him, his family and even his dog to doctors' appointments and on personal shopping trips, to landscape his back yard, clean his garage and even build a basketball court at his home in Frankfort
He also faces allegations of using state funds to purchase items for his personal benefit, including laptops for his family and cabinets for his personal home office. And he is accused of using his influence and the promise of grant money to a private business in exchange for three vehicles, two for himself and one for his father.
Another allegation against Farmer is that he influenced the Department to hire a woman he had an ongoing intimate relationship with, placing her under his direct supervision and allowing her to falsely claim work time over a six-week period.
If convicted on all counts, Farmer faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
