They sold the corn to a distillery. They lost a huge amount of money.

A farming family in Greater Poland delivered corn worth over a million złoty to a distillery. They never saw the money. There are more victims. The company initially deceived farmers and then entered a restructuring process that provides them with legal protection. However, absolutely nothing is happening on the ground, the farmers emphasize. "Interwencja" (Intervention) report.

Mr. Tadeusz is a farmer. Together with his wife, daughter, and son, they run a family farm in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. They have 280 hectares of land.

"We got into corn. We bought a drying facility with EU funds and started producing corn for consumption and distilling. We were doing quite well until we got involved with the wrong company ," says Tadeusz Kozłowski.

The entire farm's harvest was shipped to a distillery several dozen kilometers away. The company was supposed to pay for it, but hasn't done so in six years. The debt is over a million złoty. According to Mr. Tadeusz, the family was being shunned by company representatives for months.

"Problems arose in 2019. We returned some goods, but there was no money. We started talking to this company, this woman. She came to us, begged us, even cried, to wait," recalls Tadeusz Kozłowski.

SEE: "State within a State": Trust worth half a million. Farmer cheated by official

"When we were drying the corn, we spent entire nights without sleep because the dryer had to run 24 hours a day, and then we had to pay very high fuel costs. Gas was around 80,000 złoty a month, and electricity," explains Marcin Kozłowski.

Mr. Dawid, also a farmer, worked with the same distillery. The company owes him 45,000 złoty for the corn he left behind.

"We delivered two trucks of 28 tons of corn each, and it was monitored, two trips before a larger contract. We wanted to check on them. Because they didn't pay, the next delivery didn't happen. They said they'd pay in six months, which we agreed to because companies can be tricky. But then, when we arrived, we'd see things differently, like they didn't see anything. We showed them invoices, and they thought they'd paid, and it was delayed. 45,000 PLN isn't pure income, because there are also production costs. If someone had a loan, I don't know how they'd explain it to the bank. The tax office demanded 5 percent VAT, even though we didn't receive the money. And we had to pay that too," Mr. Dawid relates.

"Some financial problems started, some strange stories about an investor coming in. I received harassing phone calls. We arranged to meet with the CEO on-site, but then she wasn't there. There were all sorts of rumors that the money was imminent, but it wasn't there. Finally, I gave up on the remaining amount and hired a debt collection agency ," adds another victim, Jan Smalarz, who is waiting for 9,000 złoty for corn.

Farmers were left without money for their corn, with bills to pay and loans to pay. The company is officially undergoing restructuring . The problem is, farmers claim, nothing is happening at the distillery . When we arrived, the yard was empty and the entrance was locked.

"We signed agreements and blank promissory notes , which we then threw into the trash when they went into restructuring. They're useless," emphasizes Marcin Kozłowski.

SEE: Farmers caught in the trap of the application. They received no compensation.

"The court proceedings were halted by the restructuring. If there hadn't been any restructuring, we could have reported the debt to the bailiff and they would have collected it, but now we're at a standstill . Everything has been put on hold," comments Mr. Dawid.

"Interwencja" attempted to contact company representatives. Neither the distillery manager nor the company president agreed to speak on camera.

- It seems to me that they are laughing at the fact that we trusted them and they ignored it centrally - says Marcin Kozłowski.

Video material available on the "Intervention" program website .