Claxton Poultry: Antitrust allegations are baseless

Claxton Poultry issued a statement on June 8, saying allegations that company leaders conspired with other poultry companies in an effort to increase prices are without merit.

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Mikell Fries, president of Claxton Poultry, was indicted on federal antitrust charges along with Claxton Poultry Vice President Scott Brady last week. The company says the allegations are baseless, and Claxton Poultry intends to defend itself in court. (Claxton Poultry)
Mikell Fries, president of Claxton Poultry, was indicted on federal antitrust charges along with Claxton Poultry Vice President Scott Brady last week. The company says the allegations are baseless, and Claxton Poultry intends to defend itself in court. (Claxton Poultry)

Claxton Poultry issued a statement on June 8, saying allegations that company leaders conspired with other poultry companies in an effort to increase prices are without merit.

On June 3, Claxton Poultry President Mikell Fries, and Scott Brady, Claxton Poultry national accounts sales manager, were indicted on federal antitrust charges. Also indicted were Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Jayson Penn, and Roger Austin, a former vice president of Pilgrim’s Pride.

In its statement, Claxton Poultry said: “The allegations attributed to our company are without merit and we intend to vigorously defend our company and its good name as this process moves forward. We will not comment further on the allegations other than to say that since our small start in 1949, we have adhered to the highest standards of food quality, professionalism, integrity and good faith in all our operations.”

Fries, who has been president of the company since 2016, entered a plea of not guilty on June 8. Brady entered a not guilty plea last week.

Following multiple lawsuits alleging many of the largest poultry companies in the United States conspired to raise prices, the DOJ filed a motion in June 2019 to intervene in those cases and investigate the claims of the lawsuits, filed largely on behalf of supermarket chains.

Penn and Austin have also plead not guilty. Pilgrim’s Pride earlier stated similar views that the charges lack merit and the company will defend itself in court. Penn, previously the president of Pilgrim’s USA, was promoted to the CEO position in 2019.

Claxton Poultry, based in Claxton, Georgia, produced 8.73 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken on a weekly basis in 2019, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies Database. The 18th largest broiler company in the United States, it operates one slaughter plant, one further processing plant, two hatcheries and one feed mill.

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