As anticipated, federal prosecutors have reportedly filed a motion to dismiss a number of charges of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft against a Postville, Iowa, slaughterhouse, its former executive and a former manager. The action was taken after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a conviction under the identity theft law requires a showing that those presenting false identification documents to employers knew they belonged to another real person. More information about the case and its effect on charges arising from the immigration raids that occurred in Iowa in 2008 appear in issue 303 of this Update.

According to a news source, prosecutors knew they would be unable to prove that the undocumented immigrants who worked at an Agriprocessors, Inc. facility knowingly used identification papers belonging to others, and thus, they would be unable to prove that the managers and executives were guilty of aiding and abetting. After nearly 400 of the company’s employees were arrested for being in the country illegally, the plant’s production nearly halted, and the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2008. See Meatingplace.com, May 12, 2009.

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For decades, manufacturers, distributors and retailers at every link in the food chain have come to Shook, Hardy & Bacon to partner with a legal team that understands the issues they face in today's evolving food production industry. Shook attorneys work with some of the world's largest food, beverage and agribusiness companies to establish preventative measures, conduct internal audits, develop public relations strategies, and advance tort reform initiatives.

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