Koch Foods Executives, Price Fixing, Mississippi 2024

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Table of Contents

Price Fixing Scandal: Koch Foods and 4 Executives Charged

Denver, CO – In a shocking turn of events, a federal grand jury in Denver, Colorado, has returned an indictment charging Koch Foods, headquartered in Park Ridge, Illinois, for participating in a nationwide conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products.

The indictment alleges that Koch Foods, along with four former Pilgrim’s Pride executives, Jason McGuire, Timothy Stiller, Wesley ‘Scott’ Tucker, and Justin Gay, conspired to suppress and eliminate competition for sales of broiler chicken products, which are chickens raised for human consumption and sold to grocers and restaurants.

The indictment was handed down after a long-running investigation into the broiler chicken industry, which began as early as 2012 and lasted until at least 2019. Pilgrim’s Pride, a major broiler chicken producer based in Greeley, Colorado, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2021 to pay a criminal fine of $107 million for its role in the conspiracy.

The indictment charges the defendants with a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, carrying a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals, and a $100 million fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

The investigation into the broiler chicken industry is ongoing, with Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers stating, ‘As today’s charges show, the division remains committed to holding both individuals and companies accountable when they choose profits over following the law.’

The FBI is committed to pursuing those who violate antitrust laws, harming the nation’s free and competitive marketplace all for their own monetary gain, according to Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office.

Koch Foods, McGuire, Stiller, Tucker, and Gay are each charged with a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Defendants McGuire, Stiller, Tucker, and Gay will make their initial court appearances on Aug. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Crews of the U.S. District Court for Colorado. Koch Foods’ initial appearance is also scheduled on Aug. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Crews for the U.S. District Court for Colorado.