CEP Magazine (February 2020)
Chris Lischewski, former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods, was found guilty of price-fixing by a jury on Dec. 3. The conviction caps a years-long investigation into price-fixing by the canned tuna industry.[1] The three largest suppliers of canned tuna—Bumble Bee Foods LLC, StarKist, and Chicken of the Sea—have been embroiled in lawsuits and indictments since a whistleblower revealed a price-fixing scheme that had been going on since at least 2004.
Class action lawsuits brought by several companies, including Wegmans Food Markets Inc., Olean Wholesale Grocery Cooperative, Giant Eagle, and Walmart Inc., list as many as 56 separate individuals and entities as part of a “conspiracy players list” that helped keep the scheme running.
The former CEO faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1 million, according to the indictment.[2]