Six More Indicted on Antitrust Charges in Broiler Chicken Investigation

Six additional defendants were indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for broiler chicken products. The indictment also charges one defendant with making false statements and obstruction of justice. A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Denver, Colorado, returned the superseding indictment this week. A Justice Department official says. “Executives who choose collusion over competition will be held to account for schemes that cheat consumers and corrupt our competitive markets.” The three-count superseding indictment charges ten executives and employees at major broiler chicken producers for their participation in the conspiracy from 2012 through early 2019. The six additional defendants include William Lovette, former President and CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride. Others are also from Pilgrim’s Pride, Claxton Poultry Farms, and Perdue Farms. This case is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price-fixing, bid-rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the broiler chicken industry.