RICHLAND, Wash. — Washington rancher Cody Easterday’s sentencing for selling $244 million worth of nonexistent cattle has been pushed back to October so his attorney can recover from surgery and he can raise money for restitution by completing bankruptcy sales.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Richland, Washington, signed an order Wednesday, July 7, rescheduling the sentencing to Oct. 5 from Aug. 4. Federal prosecutors and probation officials did not object.

Easterday pleaded guilty March 31 to one count of wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and has agreed to pay $244,031,132 in restitution to Tyson Foods and an unidentified second company.

Delaying the criminal sentencing will allow time for Easterday to finish complex bankruptcy proceedings and have restitution funds available, according to his attorney, Carl Oreskovitch.

Oreskovitch also said in court documents that he had knee-replacement surgery in mid-June, hampering his ability to prepare for the August sentencing.

Easterday billed Tyson and the other company for buying and feeding cattle that didn’t exist and spent much of the proceeds to cover losses he racked up on commodity futures contracts, according to court records.

Easterday’s two companies, Easterday Ranches and Easterday Farms, are going through bankruptcy. Farmland Reserve Inc., owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, submitted the high bid of $209 million for several Easterday properties in the Columbia Basin.

A hearing is set for July 14 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern Washington to finalize the sale.