After earlier pleading not guilty to a pair of criminal charges, Tyson Foods chief financial officer (CFO) John R. Tyson changed his mind.
Tyson on January 24 pleaded guilty to public intoxication and criminal trespass. In doing so, he paid a fine of $150 for each charge, plus court costs, for a total of $440, reported Fox Business.
These charges stemmed from a November 6, 2022, incident in which Tyson was found asleep in a stranger’s residence, with arresting officers saying he smelled of alcohol at the time.
Tyson, the great-grandson of the company’s founder, entered not guilty pleas to both charges several weeks later, despite saying during a November 14 quarterly earnings call that he took “full responsibility for his actions.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen the recent incident involving me. I’m embarrassed and I want to let you know that I take full responsibility for my actions. I also want to apologize to our investors as I have to our employees. This was an incident inconsistent with our company values, as well as my personal values. I just wanted you guys to hear this directly from me and to know that I’m committed to making sure that this never happens again,” Tyson, who had since posted bail, said at the time.
While both Tyson Foods and its CFO were scrutinized during the earnings call and a subsequent telephone press conference, a review of the incident was conducted by the company, with the company stating that it had “continued confidence” in his ability to continue to serve as CFO.
Tyson was promoted to the position of CFO about two months before his arrest. Prior to that, he had served as the company’s chief sustainability officer from September 2019 until his promotion in September 2022. Stewart Glendinning, the previous CFO, was reassigned as the president of Tyson Foods’ prepared foods division.
