StarKist Pleads Guilty To Price Fixing In Alleged Collusion In Canned Tuna Industry
StarKist Co. has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to charges of price fixing as part of a conspiracy with two of its competitors to keep the price of canned tuna high.
Federal prosecutors announced the plea agreement on Thursday, which includes a fine of up to $100 million, according to The Associated Press. In the same deal, a former StarKist executive and two former Bumble Bee Foods executives pleaded guilty to price fixing.
StarKist's plea comes amid a government investigation of the canned tuna industry that's been ongoing since at least 2015. StarKist and Bumble Bee, along with Chicken of the Sea are accused of conspiring to fix prices. Altogether, the brands control around 80 percent of the U.S. canned tuna market.
Last year, Bumble Bee pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix U.S. prices between 2011 and 2013, and paid a $25 million fine. A week after Bumble Bee's plea, Walmart alleged in a lawsuit that the company was part of a conspiracy with the two other tuna canning companies.
The AP reports that on Thursday, a former StarKist executive pleaded guilty to price fixing, as did two former Bumble Bee executives.................
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/19/658700764/starkist-pleads-guilty-to-price-fix-in-alleged-collusion-in-canned-tuna-industry
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