A Bowling Green man is accused of operating a scheme that allegedly bilked more than a dozen cattle owners from Pike, Ralls and Montgomery counties out of 240 thousand dollars.

Forty-six-year-old Thomas Robert Hughes was arrested after an investigation that included federal and state authorities.

He faces felony charges of theft and passing a bad check in Pike County for allegedly using a fraudulent investment scheme to steal 240 thousand dollars of money and cattle from 13 victims over three years.

Hughes also is charged with defrauding secured creditors for allegedly hiding assets and selling mortgaged property without the consent of the Bowling Green bank that loaned him 40 thousand dollars in 2011. Records show the defendant owes the bank more than 16 thousand dollars in principal and interest on the loan.

The suspect also faces felony theft and passing bad check charges from 2013 in Montgomery County.

An arraignment in the Pike County cases is scheduled for Wednesday (Dec. 2). A hearing in Montgomery County is set for December 9th.

All persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until convicted in a court of law.