Federal Criminal Charges Filed Against Peanut Corp. Owner and Employees
In a 76-count indictment, four individuals formerly associated with the Peanut Corp. of America (PCA), which was the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak in 2009, have been charged with conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and other counts involving the distribution of adulterated or misbranded food. United States v. Parnell, No. 13-12 (M.D. Ga., filed February 15, 2013). A fifth individual employed by PCA has entered a guilty plea to charges filed against him. United States v. Kilgore, No. 13-7 (M.D. Ga., filed February 11, 2013).
The outbreak was traced to the Blakely, Georgia, plant owned by defendant Stewart Parnell. The other defendants are Michael Parnell, who was employed as a food broker on behalf of PCA, Samuel Lightsey, the Blakely plant’s operations manager from July 2008 through February 2009, and Mary Wilkerson, who worked in a number of positions from April 2002 through February 2009, including as quality assurance manager. Daniel Kilgore served as PCA operations manager in Blakely from June 2002 through May 2008; he has pleaded guilty to “one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, one count of conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded food into interstate commerce, eight counts of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud, six counts of introducing misbranded food into interstate commerce with intent to defraud, eight counts of interstate shipment fraud, and five counts of wire fraud.”
According to a U.S. Department of Justice news release, Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell, Lightsey and Kilgore “misled PCA customers about the existence of foodborne pathogens, most notably salmonella, in the peanut products PCA sold to them [and] did so in several ways—for example, even when laboratory testing revealed the presence of salmonella in peanut products from the Blakely plant, [they] failed to notify customers of the presence of salmonella in the products shipped to them.”
The charging documents also allege that they “participated in a scheme to fabricate certificates of analysis (COAs) accompanying various shipments of peanut products. COAs are documents that summarize laboratory results, including results concerning the presence or absence of pathogens. . . . [O]n several occasions these four defendants participated in a scheme to fabricate COAs stating that shipments of peanut products were free of pathogens when, in fact, there had been no tests on the products at all or when the laboratory results showed that a sample tested for salmonella.” DOJ further claims that the defendants, including Wilkerson, “gave untrue or misleading answers to . . . questions” posed by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors after the outbreak, which sickened more than 700 people.
According to Stewart Parnell’s attorneys, the charges will be vigorously defended. They said, “There is little doubt that as the facts in this case are revealed, it will become apparent that the FDA was in regular contact with PCA about its food handling policy and was well aware of its salmonella testing protocols. Representatives of State and Federal agencies made regular visits to the PCA facility in Georgia over the years and months prior to the salmonella outbreak and such agencies were aware of and made no objections to the testing policies or protocols in place.” They also said that “as this matter progresses it will become clear that Mr. Parnell never intentionally shipped or intentionally caused to be shipped any tainted food products capable of harming PCA’s customers.”
FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said, “The charges announced today show that if an individual violates food safety rules or conceals relevant information, we will seek to hold them accountable.” The defendants could face prison terms of up to 20 years if they are convicted. See Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore LLP Press Statement, NPR.org, and DOJ News Release, February 21, 2013.
