Blue Bell’s Paul Kruse stands in front of an 18-wheel trailer truck in this 2006 photo.
Houston Chronicle /File photo
Almost 10 years after a listeria outbreak that killed at least three people and made 10 others sick, federal prosecutors have dismissed fraud charges against Blue Bell CEO Paul Kruse this week. The charges were dropped after Kruse pleaded guilty on Wednesday, March 8, to a misdemeanor under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and agreed to pay a fine of $100,000, the Houston Chronicle reports.
“The settlement confirms what Mr. Kruse has been saying from the very beginning, no one at Blue Bell ever intended to defraud its customers, and we are happy that the government has reached the same conclusion,” Kruse’s attorney, Chris Flood, said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “This is the right result, it became clear during the trial last year that the government overcharged the case.”
Kruse was charged with seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in 2020 after being accused of trying to conceal the outbreak following a five-year investigation. The Texas-based company recalled 8 million gallons of ice cream and closed to deep clean and replace equipment at its three plants in Brenham, Sylacauga, Alabama, and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The ice cream was back in stores by the end of the year.
The company pled guilty in 2020 to a related case and agreed to pay a combined $19.35 million in fines, forfeiture, and civil settlement payments. The settlement is reportedly the second-largest amount ever paid in the resolution of a food safety matter.
“This has been a difficult situation for all involved, and we hope this agreement will now bring closure. Blue Bell has learned from this chapter in our company’s history, and food safety will continue to be our highest priority,” Blue Bell said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle.
Here are this week’s top stories:
Reports are circulating that Elon Musk is looking to build a “Utopia” in Texas named Snailbrook.
A North Texas mother was arrested after she reportedly stabbed her five children, killing three of them.
Controversial comedian Joe Rogan has opened his anti-cancel culture club Comedy Mothership in Austin.
Fiesta San Antonio is on the horizon! We’ve got a taste of the city’s biggest party with the reveal of the 2023 Oyster Bake music lineup.
The bodies of two children have been recovered in the search for 13-year-old twins in Galveston.