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Judge: StarKist to pay $100M fine in tuna price-fixing case

A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered StarKist Co. to pay a $100 million fine in a canned tuna price-fixing conspiracy involving three companies

StarKist Co. agreed to plead guilty to a felony price fixing charge as part of a broad collusion investigation of the canned tuna industry.
StarKist Co. agreed to plead guilty to a felony price fixing charge as part of a broad collusion investigation of the canned tuna industry.Read moreStephanie Strasburg / AP
    by Associated Press, The Associated Press
    Published 

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in San Francisco has ordered StarKist Co. to pay a $100 million fine in a canned tuna price-fixing conspiracy involving three companies.

The Pittsburgh-based company had asked U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen to reduce the fine to $50 million, arguing a $100 million penalty could bankrupt it because it still faces millions more in potential civil damages.

Chen on Wednesday said the court found the company has the assets and the ability to borrow money to pay the fine.

Chen ordered the company to pay $5 million within 30 days and $11 million next year. Starting in 2021, the company will have to make payments of $21 million each year for four years.

StarKist last year pleaded guilty to a felony price fixing charge as part of a broad collusion investigation.