Bumble Bee Foods Executive to Plead Guilty to Fixing Canned Tuna Prices
December 07 2016 - 05:10PM
Dow Jones News
WASHINGTON—A Bumble Bee Foods executive has agreed to plead
guilty to fixing prices on canned tuna, the first criminal charges
in an ongoing Justice Department probe in the packaged seafood
industry.
Prosecutors on Wednesday said Walter Scott Cameron would plead
guilty to one felony charge for fixing prices on packaged seafood
from 2011 to 2013. Mr. Cameron, identified in a court document as a
senior vice president of sales, has agreed to pay a criminal fine
and cooperate in the investigation, the department said.
According to the charges, Mr. Cameron engaged in discussions and
meetings with counterparts at other major seafood-producing firms
and agreed to "fix, raise and maintain the prices of packaged
seafood" sold to U.S. consumers.
The charges identify Bumble Bee only as "Company A," but the
firm confirmed Mr. Cameron is an employee who is currently on paid
leave.
Bumble Bee's general counsel, Jill Irvin, said the company is
fully cooperating with the Justice Department, which has been
probing anticompetitive behavior in the industry.
"The company is hopeful that it can reach a resolution with DOJ
on this matter, as it relates to the company, in early 2017," she
said. "Because the investigation is ongoing, we cannot provide any
additional information or comments on this matter at this
time."
A lawyer for Mr. Cameron couldn't immediately be reached for
comment.
The Justice Department didn't say how much consumers might have
been overcharged by the alleged price-fixing.
Renata Hesse, head of the department's antitrust division, said,
"All consumers deserve competitive prices for these important
kitchen staples, and companies and executives who cheat those
consumers will be held criminally accountable."
The department has spent a considerable amount of time examining
the industry. Last year Thai Union Group PCL, a large international
seafood producer that holds the Chicken of the Sea brand, dropped
its proposed $1.5 billion acquisition of Bumble Bee after the
Justice Department objected on antitrust grounds.
The department at the time said the market was "not functioning
competitively" and would only get worse with consolidation.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 07, 2016 16:55 ET (21:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024