Ex-Pilgrim’s leader Stiller indicted on obstruction charges

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed additional charges against former Pilgrim’s Pride Timothy Stiller, who was earlier accused of conspiring to rig bids and fix the price of chicken.

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BCFC | Bigstockphoto.com
BCFC | Bigstockphoto.com

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed additional charges against former Pilgrim’s Pride Timothy Stiller, who was earlier accused of conspiring to rig bids and fix the price of chicken.

According to a Bloomberg Law report, the DOJ amended its price-fixing charges against Stiller, claiming he attempted to obstruct a grand jury investigation and tamper with a witness.

Stiller, along with other former Pilgrim’s Pride executives, Jason McGuire, Wesley “Scott” Tucker and Justin Gay, were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021, alleging that they participated in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition for the sale of chicken products.

Should Stiller be found guilty of those charges, he could face more than 20 years in prison.

This case is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the broiler chicken industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division with the assistance of the Department of Commerce Inspector General’s Office, the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Antitrust Division.

The additional charges come on the heels of a verdict in which five other men were acquitted of similar charges. On July 7, the following five people were found innocent of federal antitrust charges: former Pilgrim’s Pride CEOs Jayson Penn and Bill Lovette, Claxton Poultry President Mikell Fries, Claxton Poultry Vice President Scott Brady, and former Pilgrim’s Pride Vice President Roger Austin.

That was the third trial for those five men on those charges. The previous two trials both ended in a mistrial. During the first two trials, Timothy Mulrenin, an executive with Perdue Farms who formerly worked for Tyson Foods; William Kantola, an executive with Koch Foods; Jimmie Little, a former Pilgrim’s Pride sales director; Rickie Blake, a former director and manager at George’s; and Gary Roberts, a Case Farms employee and former Tyson Foods employee, were also facing charges, but the DOJ dropped the charges against those five before the third trial occurred.

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