Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: criminal

  • Bumble Bee Pleads Guilty to Felony in Price-Fixing Conspiracy

    Bumble Bee Foods, LLC has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of shelf­-stable tuna and will pay a minimum $25 ­million fine. U.S. v. Bumble Bee Foods LLC, No. 17­-CR-­249 (N.D. Cal. May 8, 2017). According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bumble Bee…

  • Eighth Circuit Upholds Convictions in Halal Mislabeling Scheme

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the convictions of Midamar Corp., founder William Aossey and his son Jalel Aossey, perpetrators of a scheme to falsely label meat as halal. U.S. v. Aossey, Nos. 16­1611, 16­1688, 16­1761 (8th Cir., order entered April 14, 2017). The court rejected the defendants’ arguments that…

  • “Codfather” Pleads Guilty in Fish Falsification Case

    The owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the United States has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, falsifying federal records, cash smuggling and tax evasion in a case accusing him of deliberately misreporting the types of fish he caught to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). U.S. v. Rafael, No. 16­-10124 (D.…

  • “Wine Ponzi Scheme” Perpetrator Sentenced to Six Years

    John Fox, former owner of wine shop Premier Cru, has reportedly been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and defrauding investors out of at least $45 million. As part of the scheme, Fox sold wine to customers around the world, embezzled the money, then used newer purchasers’ money to…

  • Bumble Bee Foods Exec Pleads Guilty to Price-Fixing Scheme

    Walter Scott Cameron, a former senior vice president of sales at Bumble Bee Foods, LLC has pleaded guilty to combination and conspiracy to fix, raise and maintain the prices of packaged seafood, including canned tuna. U. S. v. Cameron, No. 16-CR-0501 (N.D. Cal., information filed December 7, 2016). The criminal information accuses Cameron of conspiring with…

  • Counterfeiters of 5-Hour Energy Convicted

    Two people have been convicted of conspiracy in charges related to a scheme to distribute counterfeit 5-Hour Energy drinks. United States v. Shayota, No. 15-0264 (N.D. Cal., verdict entered November 28, 2016). The couple, Joseph and Adriana Shayota, produced several million bottles of a drink manufactured under unsanitary conditions and labeled the drink with 5-Hour…

  • Food Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison for Selling Contaminated Cheese

    Christian Rivas, owner of Oasis Brands Inc., has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for two charges that he sold cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instructed the company to stop distribution until it remedied its practices. FDA inspected Oasis in August 2014, found several violations and…

  • Former Wine Co. Owner Charged with Fraud for Mislabeling Grapes

    A federal grand jury has indicted Jeffry Hill of Hill Wine Co. on charges that he sold wine falsely labeled as originating from Napa Valley in California. United States v. Hill, No. 16-CR-0454 (N.D. Cal., indictment entered November 1, 2016). The indictment accuses Hill of growing grapes outside the designated Napa Valley borders and selling the grape…