ever entered for agriculture-related fraud and farm animal cruelty in federal court history. In this first-of-its-kind fraud case, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ), at the USDA's behest, joined a lawsuit with the Humane Society against Hallmark. The lawsuit alleged that the Hallmark defrauded the federal government by misrepresenting its compliance with the terms of its federal school lunch program contracts requiring the humane handling of animals. Most of the $497 million judgment was not recovered by the DoJ because of Hallmark's bankruptcy and cessation of business. The amount was reduced to $155 million as part of the final settlement with the remaining defendants. Part of the judgment amount was paid personally by company executives and members of the Hallmark family in structured settlements. The DoJ and Agriculture Department intended these huge judgments and settlements in the government's favor to deter future animal cruelty and fraud by the nation's slaughterhouses. Schafer left the Secretary of Agriculture position at the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. Interim president of the University of North Dakota Schafer was appointed interim president of the University of North Dakota on November 9, 2016, by the Board of Higher Education. He said he had no intention to apply to become the next permanent president. Schafer signed a contract on December 2, 2015, to fill in for former University of North Dakota president Robert Kelley upon Kelley's retirement, which took place on January 14, 2016. Schafer reportedly accepted the interim post with "some hesitancy". Schafer's appointment as interim president "did not sit well with a significant portion of the university faculty, according to the faculty representative on the Board of Higher Education." This lack of support by that portion of the university faculty was in large part because Schafer did not have an earned doctorate or any administrative experience at a research university, according to Eric Murphy, the advisor to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education. "The faculty voice is in opposition to" Schafer's selection, Murphy said. Schafer's working life was spent primarily in business and politics. Despite his lack of academic leadership experience, Schafer became the highest-paid administrator in the state's entire higher education system history to that time. He was paid $33,216 per month for his work from January 15 to June 30, 2016. Schafer's contract paid him $2,250 per month more than retiring President Kelley had been earning after