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A second Bumble Bee executive admitted having conspired to fix canned tuna prices. (Photo: Stock File)
Bumble Bee senior executive pleads guilty for tuna price conspiracy
UNITED STATES
Thursday, December 22, 2016, 23:50 (GMT + 9)
A Bumble Bee trade marketing executive has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to fix the prices of canned tuna sold in the United States, becoming the second executive to admit guilt.
According to the Justice Department, Kenneth Worsham agreed to plead guilty to price fixing between 2011 and 2013 but did not identify the company he worked for. Related civil lawsuits alleging tuna price fixing identify the executive as a senior vice president of marketing for Bumble Bee.
A one-count felony charge has revealed that Worsham and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of packaged seafood sold in the US.
In addition to his guilty plea, which is subject to court approval, Worsham has agreed to pay a criminal fine and cooperate with the division’s ongoing investigation.
Beforehand, another executive of the same company, Walter Scott Cameron, had agreed early to plead guilty in the same conspiracy.
“The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners are once again sending a strong signal that high-ranking executives responsible for fixing the price of shelf-stable tuna must be held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We will continue our work to root out the collusion among packaged seafood companies that targeted American consumers.”
Worham's charge is the second to result from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into the packaged seafood industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.
The canned tuna market in the United States has long been dominated by three companies: Thai Union's Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee and Starkist.
About a year ago, the US Justice Department told Thai Union Group Plc that it would file a lawsuit to stop its planned USD 1.5 billion acquisition of US rival Bumble Bee. Thai Union scrapped the deal.
Related article:
- Thai Union terminates deal to purchase Bumble Bee
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