Five executives from the poultry processing industry have been found not guilty of conspiring to fix prices.
A jury in a Denver federal court acquitted former Pilgrim's Pride CEOs Jayson Penn and William Lovette; Roger Austin, a former Pilgrim's vice president; Mikell Fries, president of Claxton Poultry and Scott Brady, a Claxton vice president.
In October 2020 Pilgrim's Pride reached a plea agreement with the U.S. government over charges of price-fixing in the chicken industry.
Under the agreement, Pilgrim's Pride would pay a fine of $110.5 million as a penalty for restraining competition in three separate contracts with a U.S. customer. In exchange, the U.S. Department of Justice would not bring further charges against Pilgrim's Pride or recommend a monitor or any probationary period.
The price-fixing trial was the third against the company executives after two previous mistrials.
The judge summoned Jonathan Kanter, head of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, to Denver in April to explain why, after two hung juries, the government could still win convictions. "We know that the evidence couldn't persuade 12 people," a skeptical Brimmer told Kanter at the time. "We've seen it happen twice."
The Justice Department had hoped for success in the third trial after narrowing the case from 10 individuals to five, and pushed ahead even after U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer questioned the strategy.
In a statement issued Friday, the Justice Department said it was "disappointed in the verdict, but we will continue to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws, especially when it comes to price- fixing schemes that affect core staples. We will not be deterred from continuing to vigilantly pursue cases to protect the American people and our markets."