Former Washington cattleman Cody Easterday, awaiting sentencing for defrauding Tyson Fresh Meats, may have been a victim of price-fixing by Tyson, a lawyer said in court Wednesday, a claim rebuffed by a Tyson representative.

Attorney Timothy Conway, representing Cody’s mother, Karen Easterday, pointed to a lawsuit in Minnesota that alleges Tyson and three other packers depressed cattle prices.

The Easterdays sold cattle from the family-owned feedlot near Pasco to Tyson, until the company discovered Cody Easterday was billing it for non-existent cattle.

Nevertheless, if the antitrust allegations are proven, the Easterdays could share in a large settlement, Conway told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Whitman Holt in Yakima.

Tyson attorney Al Smith called Conway’s claim an “irrelevant cheap shot.” He said the Easterday family was angling to dodge paying $233 million in restitution to Tyson.

“They are trying to complicate things to avoid their own liability here,” Smith told the judge. “Your honor, they are just trying to throw sand into the works.”

Cody Easterday filed for bankruptcy last year shortly before pleading guilty to selling Tyson about 200,000 head of what federal prosecutors called “ghost cattle.” He is scheduled to be sentenced for wire fraud in January.

Meanwhile, the family’s extensive farm and ranch operations in the Columbia Basin are being sold. The proceeds have yet to be divided among Tyson, other creditors and the Easterday family.

Conway said the bankruptcy attorneys working on an allocation plan should look into allegations in the antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota.

The suit, led by R-CALF and the National Farmers Union, alleges Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef conspired to lower cattle prices beginning in 2015.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ruled in September that the plaintiffs have presented enough evidence for the case to proceed.

The evidence includes testimony from two anonymous meat-packing insiders identified in court papers as “Jason F.” and “Matt T.”

Conway said Cody Easterday may have been doubly victimized because the conspiracy also allegedly lowered prices for cattle sold through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Federal prosecutors said Easterday sold Tyson the non-existent cattle to cover his losses trading in cattle futures contracts listed on the exchange.

Separate from defrauding Tyson, Easterday has been charged with filing false reports to the exchange to further his speculation.

Richard Pachulski, the lead attorney working on allocating the proceeds from selling the Easterday property, said Tyson’s claims against Easterday have been investigated.

“We’re kind of done going through rabbit holes in trying to figure out claims because the Easterdays don’t like that Tyson is actually getting paid after being defrauded,” he said.

Conway said the claims in the antitrust lawsuit were significant. “Terming it a ‘rabbit hole’ is rather astonishing,” he said.

The exchange came during a monthly conference on the status of the bankruptcy case. There was no motion for Holt to rule on.

In a written status report, bankruptcy attorneys said Karen Easterday was refusing to help appraise the family’s remaining real estate, including 1,000 acres of “lakeside property in Idaho.”

Conway denied Karen Easterday was refusing to cooperate. In a written response, he said the land in Idaho was “unimproved ranch land, not resort property.”

The Easterdays will sell their one-sixth interest in a hangar at the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco for $270,000 to Omaha LLC. Holt approved the sale Wednesday.