He said he had 8,000 head of cattle for collateral. Investigators couldn't find them

A Wichita Falls man was arrested Wednesday and accused of defrauding a North Texas bank of more than $5.8 million using cattle.

The 67-year-old man had listed 8,000 yearling cattle as collateral, but officials did not locate any of the animals, a spokesman with the Texas Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association said. The association is based in Fort Worth.

Authorities identified the suspect as Howard Lee Hinkle of Wichita Falls. The city is about 120 miles northwest of Fort Worth.

"It is suspected that Hinkle deceived the bank by showing them fraudulent documentation and cattle that belonged to other individuals," said cattle association spokesman Jeremy Fuchs in a news release.

A Denton County grand jury returned an indictment against Hinkle earlier this month on a charge of theft of more than $200,000. If convicted, Hinkle faces a maximum of life in prison.

He was free Thursday after posting $10,000 bail shortly after his arrest Wednesday. Hinkle could not be reached for comment.

An investigation by the cattle raisers association began in March 2017 after officials at First United Bank in Sanger after Hinkle defaulted on several loans of more than $5.8 million.

Responding to a court order, bank officials were unable to find any of the 8,000 cattle that were put up for collateral on the loans, authorities said.

Hinkle had told officials the cattle were on properties scattered across 10 counties in Texas and Oklahoma.

Special Rangers John Bradshaw and Troy McKinney identified the locations listed by Hinkle and found that none were owned by Hinkle, Fuchs said.

This story was originally published June 28, 2018 at 1:59 PM with the headline "He said he had 8,000 head of cattle for collateral. Investigators couldn't find them."