Bumble Bee to Plead Guilty in Price-fixing Case

Bumble Bee Foods LLC has agreed to plead guilty to one count of fixing the prices of canned and pouched tuna sold in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Additionally, the San Diego-based company will pay a $25 million criminal fine and cooperate with the ongoing investigation being carried out by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

“The division, along with our law enforcement colleagues, will continue to hold these companies and their executives accountable for conduct that targeted a staple in American households,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch, of the Antitrust Division.

“Companies small and large hold a great deal of the American people's trust, and this type of unfair, greedy behavior will not be tolerated,” added Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett, of the FBI’s San Francisco Division.

Two Bumble Bee executives, now on paid leave from the company, will plead guilty in connection with the case in December, Reuters reported.

“We have established strong guidelines and new internal policies for our path forward, which is being overseen by a chief compliance officer that we hired last fall,” noted the company’s general counsel, Jill Irvin.

According to a filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, Bumble Bee and its co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of shelf-stable tuna from as early as the first quarter of 2011 through at least as late as the fourth quarter of 2013. The one-count felony charge was the third to be filed – and the first against a corporate defendant – in the investigation.

Further, retailers such as Walmart, Wegmans Food Markets, The Kroger Co., Albertsons Cos., Hy-Vee Inc., Publix Super Markets and Meijer Inc. have filed suit against Bumble Bee, Tri-Union Seafoods (dba Chicken of the Sea) and StarKist, alleging price-fixing.