PORTAGE COUNTY, WI - Thomas Lundgren, a former produce seller in Wisconsin, has been accused with what local sources are calling “one of the largest potato-related thefts in Wisconsin history.” According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Lundgren is accused of withholding more than $700,000 in payments to potato growers and trucking companies in 2011-2012.

"The state believes it's one of the largest, if not the largest theft from potato farmers in the state of Wisconsin's history," said Portage County District Attorney Louis Molepske. "This has a severe impact on multiple growers, family farms that rely upon the economic value of their agriculture product."

Lundgren was charged with 10 counts of theft in the Portage County Circuit Court last week. He also faces related theft charges in Langlade County worth $176,000. These charges were initially made in 2013, but Molepske told WPR that the case was dismissed due to issues with the kind of charges that were filed.

"The court believed that how the state had originally filed the case wasn't supported by the evidence," Molepske said. "That was an issue of whether or not the defendant ever was actually in possession of the potatoes or was acting simply under a theft-type of statute."

A preliminary hearing for the case has been scheduled for Monday, Oct. 9.