Overview
- Steve McBee Sr. pleaded guilty to one count of federal crop insurance fraud in 2024 and was sentenced to 24 months in prison with roughly $7 million ordered in fines and restitution by a federal judge in October 2025.
- McBee Sr. self-surrendered to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp in Yankton, South Dakota, on Dec. 1, 2025 and remains incarcerated there serving his two-year term.
- Steven McBee Jr. told Page Six that his father is due to be released on Sept. 11, 2026, but that date is reported as the family’s claim and has not been independently confirmed by prison or Justice Department records.
- The family describes limited contact with McBee Sr. from Yankton, saying they exchange weekly emails and roughly biweekly 15-minute phone calls, and they say the emotional toll of his absence has been severe.
- The McBee sons are managing day-to-day operations while the family confronts leadership questions on the farm after Steve Sr. named interim roles before reporting to prison and after reported meetings with pardon attorneys and outside advisers.