YAKIMA, Wash. — Cody Easterday was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison by a federal judge for defrauding Tyson Fresh Meats and a second victim out of $244 million.

Easterday, 51, apologized to his family, friends and Tyson for the fraud. He told Judge Stanley Bastian he had no excuses.

“I’m just sorry. This is not the man I am and not the man that I will be,” he said.

The sentence was within the range recommended by the Justice Department but far longer than proposed by Easterday’s attorney, Carl Oreskovich.

“We’re horribly disappointed,” Oreskovich said. “I think it was a particularly harsh sentence. I hoped for something way different than that.”

Easterday will remain free until he reports to prison at a later date. Bastian said he will recommend that Easterday serve his term at the federal prison in Sheridan, Ore. He will be allowed to self-report. No date was set in court for him to report.

The Sheridan facility includes a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Easterday walked past reporters after the hearing and declined to comment.

U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref said the sentence is appropriate considering the size of the theft and the harm it did to Tyson and Easterday’s employees. “It’s hard to find anything comparable to this incredible amount,” she said.

Easterday pleaded guilty 18 months ago to one count of wire fraud. He admitted to defrauding Tyson out of $233 million and Segale Properties, a Tukwila, Wash., real estate development company, out of $11 million.

Easterday supplied cattle to Tyson’s beef plant in Pasco, Wash. Between 2016 and 2018, he billed to procure and feed about 265,000 head of cattle that didn’t exist.

Bastian said he recognized that Easterday built a successful business through hard work and dedication. But the judge said he still couldn’t understand how Easterday could have gotten himself into such trouble.

“The empire you built for so long, you destroyed,” Bastian said.

Bastian said he routinely sentences people who have drug addictions. In this case, Easterday had a gambling addiction that led to about $200 million in losses trading on commodity futures contracts, he said.

“I don’t see a difference in this case,” the judge said.

The courtroom was filled with Easterday’s supporters. Oreskovich said their presence was a testimony to Easterday’s contributions to his community.

“They want you to know this is a cherished member of the community,” Oreskovich told the judge. “This is a remarkable human being, your honor. With the exception of the reason that we’re here to day, his life has been exemplary.”

The federal government’s lead prosecutor on the case, John “Fritz” Scanlon, acknowledged that Easterday took responsibility for his crime after it was uncovered.

But it was only uncovered after Tyson started investigating the number of cattle in Easterday’s feed lots, he said.

When Easterday started losing while trading on commodities, he turned to crime and “four years of lies,” Scanlon said. “Mr. Easterday’s crime was massive, brazen and long-term. It’s almost hard to imagine how much money it was.”

By liquidating his farming empire in bankruptcy court, Easterday has repaid Tyson $62.4 million and Segale $3.5 million. Bastian entered an order requiring Easterday to pay another $178.1 million in restitution to his two victims.

Easterday claims Tyson owes him nearly $163 million related to their business relationship. That issue was not resolved at the sentencing hearing.

In letters to the judge, family and friends portrayed Easterday as a man who could be trusted to do business on a handshake.

Tyson attorney Al Smith said Easterday shook hands with many Tyson representatives “and he defrauded all of them.”