Tag: criminal
-
Castle Cheese Executive to Pay $5,000 over Adulterated Parmesan
Castle Cheese Inc. President Michelle Myrter has reportedly been sentenced to three years of probation, 200 hours of community service at a food bank and a $5,000 fine for misdemeanor charges of food adulteration for selling “100% Parmesan” cheese containing high levels of substitutes, including cellulose. Following a federal investigation and a raid on company…
-
Natural Food Co. to Pay $1.5 Million in Justice Dept. Agreement on Federal Immigration Laws
Following an investigation into potential criminal violations of federal immigration laws, Mary’s Gone Crackers Inc. will pay $1.5 million and establish a corporate compliance program but will not be prosecuted, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced. The investigation determined that 48 of the company’s employees were ineligible to work in the United States; Mary’s…
-
Italian Police Arrest Alleged Mafia Members in Bread-Selling Scheme
Italian police have reportedly arrested 24 people in an operation targeting the Lo Russo crime syndicate in connection with a scheme to intimidate grocers and supermarkets in Naples into buying bread at prices considerably higher than the market standard. The police also seized three bakeries allegedly identified as Lo Russo-controlled. The crime group reportedly forced…
-
Eighth Circuit Upholds Prison Sentences for Egg Execs
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the legality of three-month prison sentences handed down to former Quality Egg, LLC executives Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter, former officials of the company deemed responsible for a 2010 Salmonella outbreak traced to its Iowa egg farms. United States v. Quality Egg, LLC, No. 15-1890…
-
Former FDA Commissioner Examines Increasing DOJ Actions Against Food Companies
Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner for Foods David Acheson has authored an article warning food company officials to prioritize food safety in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) increasing prosecutions against executives of food companies responsible for pathogen outbreaks. Acheson describes the Park Doctrine, which allows the government to seek…
-
No Restitution from Peanut Corp. Executives for Salmonella Outbreak
A Georgia federal court has reportedly ruled that four former executives of Peanut Corp. will not be forced to pay restitution to the victims of a Salmonella outbreak linked to nine deaths and 714 illnesses. The executives—Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell, Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore—are each serving federal prison terms for knowingly shipping Salmonella-tainted peanut butter…
-
Founder of Halal Co. Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison
The founder of Midamar, an export company charged with fraud for sending “halal” meat to Malaysia that failed to meet halal slaughtering standards, has reportedly been sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $60,000 in fines and $184,983 in disgorgement. Midamar was fined $20,000 and ordered to forfeit $600,000. A U.S.…
-
Cheese Cos. Plead Guilty to Adulterating Parmesan
Two cheese companies and an executive from a third company have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the manufacture and sale of adulterated and misbranded Parmesan cheese products. The companies, Universal Cheese & Drying, Inc. and International Packing, LLC, were charged with conspiracy to introduce misbranded cheese products into interstate commerce and to commit money…