Top executives of poultry-processing companies face new price-fixing charges laid in Colorado by the United States Department of Justice.
They also face new charges of witness tampering.
The new charges were filed after a jury delivered not guilty decisions on previous charges against other executives of the same companies.
Former Pilgrim's Pride company executives, Jason McGuire, Wesley “Scott” Tucker and Justin Gay, are defendants in the price-fixing case, along with Timothy Stiller.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2021, alleges a nationwide scheme to suppress and eliminate competition in the broiler chicken market. The conspiracy is alleged to have begun as early as 2012 and lasted until at least 2019.
Those deemed not guilty in the jury trial are former Pilgrim's Pride chief executive officers Jayson Penn and William Lovette; Claxton Poultry president Mikell Fries; Claxton vice-president Scott Brady; and Roger Austin, formerly with Pilgrim’s.
