Minneapolis woman charged with swindling Minnesota farm grant
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis woman has been charged after she allegedly received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture fraudulently.
Farm grant fraud
What we know:
According to the charges, 42-year-old Danielle Jovani Smith is charged with one county of theft by swindle and one count of aggravated forgery.
Court documents say that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has a Down Payment Assistance Grant Program to help farmers invest in farm ownership, offering up to $15,000. The program runs on a lottery system to award the payments.
On Sept. 12, 2024, Smith submitted an application for the grant, reportedly intending to grow cannabis, herbs and spices, fruits and vegetables. She also wanted to raise poultry and eggs.
The charges state that Smith put in her application that she was buying 3.5 acres of farmland for $219,000 in Stevens County.
On April 3, 2025, Smith was awarded the $15,000 grant from the program.
The award letter said she needed to complete a call with the program administrator, register for the state's SWIFT payment system, provide farm sales information, turn in a farm purchase agreement and show proof she had financing.
The complaint says Smith sent a handwritten letter dated April 7, 2025, saying she had no agricultural sales to report for the prior year. Court records also say she registered in SWIFT using a Sutton Bank account that services Cash App.
On June 18, 2025, Smith sent a six-page farm purchase agreement listing 4.870 acres in Baldwin Township for $89,000, with $27,651 in earnest money due at signing, according to the complaint.
The filing says the document set closing for July 16, 2025, at Smith's Washburn Avenue North address in Minneapolis even though the grant award letter said the farmland purchase had to close by June 30, 2025.
On June 30, 2025, Smith was officially awarded the $15,000 grant and signed a grant contract with a Minnesota Department of Agriculture representative, according to the complaint.
A Minnesota Department of Agriculture agent tried reaching out to Smith several times to collect the settlement statement from her farmland purchase. Smith answered once and told the agent she would email the statement, but she never did.
Ultimately, it was discovered that the land Smith said she bought was actually sold to someone else, court documents say.
Investigators found that Smith allegedly made a fake email account to sign both sides of the farm purchase agreement to submit for the grant.
What's next:
Smith's first court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 2.
The Source: Court documents out of Hennepin County.