Chicken Industry Executives Indicted
Four current and former executives – including the CEO – of chicken producers Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the largest chicken producers in the US, and Claxton Poultry Farms were indicted June 3 for allegedly fixing prices, according to reports.
The charges are the first of an ongoing Justice Department antitrust investigation, and officials claim the companies conspired to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chickens sold in restaurants and grocery stores from 2012 and 2017.
In references to official reports, Pilgrim’s Pride President and CEO Jayson Penn and former VP Roger Austin, as well as Georgia-based Claxton Poultry Farms’ President Mikell Fries and VP, Scott Brady were indicted. All four are reportedly scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in federal court June 4. These charges follow on the heels of questions regarding the inflated price of meat during the coronavirus pandemic.
Prosecutors allege the four, through a series of calls and texts, discussed non-public information regarding their prices and negotiations with fast food chains and grocery stores in an attempt to fix, stabilize and raise prices. Pilgrim’s Pride supplies chicken for Costco and Yum Brands’ KFC and Claxton is one of Chick-fil-A’s suppliers, according to media outlets.
The criminal investigation into price fixing is ongoing with the Pilgrim’s Pride and Claxton Poultry Farms executives the first to be charged. The four could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison along with a $1 million fine, which could be higher if the amount of money lost by the victims and/or gained by the defendants totals more than $1 million.
Wholesale chicken prices are said to have been increased by 11 percent from 2012 through 2018 and lowered by 27 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to the Department of Agriculture data.
Reports claim Pilgrim’s Pride produces about 17 percent of the US chicken market and produces about 13 billion pounds of chicken annually. Claxton Poultry Farms produces about 300 million pounds of chicken annually.