StarKist Co. has been ordered by the Justice Department to pay a $100 million fine for its role in a canned tuna price-fixing conspiracy.
The tuna giant was also given a 12-month term of probation for conspiring to fix the prices of the canned fish and pleaded guilty last year to a felony antitrust charge in the matter. The Justice Department alleged that StarKist participated in price fixing from as early as November 2011 through at least December 2013.
StarKist had asked for a lower fine, but during Tuesday’s sentencing, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen found that the company had not proven that its financial situation warranted a lower fine. In addition to the substantial fine and probation, StarKist agreed to cooperate with an ongoing investigation by the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said in a Tuesday statement that when customers are cheated because of a corporation, the Antitrust Division will hold the company accountable to the “greatest extent.”
“Today’s result demonstrates our commitment to enforcing the antitrust laws aggressively against companies that fix prices,” Delrahim said. “Hard-working Americans deserve the benefits of open competition when they spend their hard-earned money on items that stock kitchen shelves.”
StarKist Chief Executive Andrew Choe told the Wall Street Journal that the company accepts blame for the violation.
“We have cooperated with the DOJ during the course of its investigation and accept responsibility,” Choe said.
In 2017, Bumble Bee Foods, another tuna company, pleaded guilty as part of the government probe into the price fixing and paid a $25 million fine. The antitrust investigation into the packaged-seafood industry is still ongoing, and has so far led to a total of six charges.
