正如司法部调查针对鸡肉行业的价格固定的那样，刑事指控也是如此吗？

The U.S. Justice Department's decision to intervene in a major price-fixing lawsuit against the chicken industry could indicate that the government is on the verge of bringing criminal charges, legal experts told Food Dive.

在司法部律师提出干预的动议后，调查被披露诉讼于2016年首次提起。Itaccused chicken companies, including朝圣者的骄傲，Perdue Farms，Tyson Foods和Sanderson Farms串谋使肉鸡价格膨胀。该部要求美国伊利诺伊州北区地方法院停止发现，并在动议中声称“需要有限的住宿来保护大陪审团的调查”。周四，美国地方法官托马斯·杜尔金（Thomas Durkin）ordered a three-month stayon part of the litigation, including沉积和subpoenas.

Claims of price-fixing against chicken producers have been surfacing for years. The poultry companies have faced多similar lawsuits，以及美国证券交易委员会的调查和报废controversial Georgia Dock price index。But the Justice Department's latest move could escalate the situation if criminal charges come next.

“干预清楚地表明他们正在考虑它，这不是茶叶的读数，从字面上看，他们正在考虑是否应该自己提起案件，”阿肯色大学小石城的法学教授罗伯特·斯坦布赫（Robert Steinbuch）告诉Food Dive。

司法部为什么要干预？

三年前，当T他first case被提交了由Maplevale Farms。It alleged thepoultry companies worked together to操纵鸡肉供应以维持更高的价格和利润，并通过行业信息服务Agri Stats保留竞争对手活动的记录。那么，为什么司法部现在宣布其参与？

布雷登·佩里（Braden Perry）是肯尼赫兹·佩里（Kennyhertz Perry）的诉讼，监管和政府调查律师，他告诉《食品潜水》（Food Dive）说，时间安排很大，因为此案自2016年以来已起诉。

In the motion to intervene, the DOJ said "the government has a significant interest in ensuring the integrity of the grand jury's investigation and if charges are filed, minimizing the extent to which civil discovery can be used to circumvent criminal discovery."

Perry said this means "the DOJ does not want testimony and business records public that would hinder their criminal investigation pre-indictment."

A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment further beyond the motion.

The companies involved have strongly denied the allegations, and did so again after the criminal probe became public.

A spokesman for Pilgrim's Pride told Food Dive in an email that the company denies any allegations of anti-competitive conduct and "welcomes the opportunity to defend itself against these claims through the legal process." While a Perdue Farms spokeswoman told Food Dive in an email that the company is going to vigorously defend against these allegations.

Sanderson Farms said在公开声明中that the company has not been subpoenaed in connection with a Department of Justice investigation and they continue to believe the civil plaintiffs' claims are "wholly without merit."Tyson told CNBC那是这根本没有对泰森食品与竞争对手串通的指控没有任何优势。”

But in the meantime, the potential of a criminal investigation will likely impact the companies. Shares of Tyson, Pilgrim's Pride and Sanderson all declined Wednesday as the news of the probe spread周四，混合的结果持续了。

佩里说：“随着司法部的表面表面，他们可能会在调查上花费大量费用，他们的股价也可能会受到打击。”

从长远来看，这将如何影响公司？

食品工业中的价格固定指控并不少见。还提起诉讼乳制品,金枪鱼,pork和鸡肉。

在调查了金枪鱼的价格固定之后，海洋鸡肉settled与沃尔玛, and Bumble Bee认罪as part of the DOJ's investigation. Earlier this year,鲜明announced它也解决了反托拉斯的主张与沃尔玛一起以2050万美元的价格与沃尔玛在一起。斯坦布赫说，该金枪鱼案将与大型鸡肉生产商可能发生的事情进行“合理的比较”。

但是，此案并不完全相同，尚未提起刑事指控。约翰·洛帕特卡（John Lopatka），法学教授Penn State University和a leading antitrust scholar, told Food Dive it is a little unusual that the civil plaintiffs brought charges first and DOJ asked for a stay of discovery before bringing criminal charges. But there is an indication the department will decide whether to bring charges within three months. This would impact the civil cases.

“如果审判了刑事指控，并且发现各种公司从事价格固定，那么民事原告就可以采取该判决，并说'确定阴谋的判决，因此我们要做的就是确定我们是如何因这种阴谋而受伤的'洛帕卡说。

尽管司法部最初要求六个月住宿，但洛帕卡said the department was giving itself some leeway when it asked for that.

“三个月的时间保持收紧，并产生比司法部想要的更紧迫性，但我怀疑它改变了他们的基本有效性。”他说过。“我猜想，司法部现在将集中精力在三个月内完成。”

彼得·卡斯滕森（Peter Carstensen），a professor of law emeritus and威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校法学院的反托拉斯专家还表示，司法部可能会在几个月内弄清楚是否在几个月内向公司收取费用，因为这些公司在案件几年后没有进行初步调查。如果政府认为它有足够的指控，那么对公司的后果可能会很严重。

“如果政府决定提起刑事案件，那么鸡肉公司将面临重大刑事罚款，如果特定的人强烈牵连，他们可能会面临入狱时间，而对于公司高管，这一定是非常可怕的。”说过。“这也将使原告在案情方面的解决方案变得更加容易。”