The former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods LLC has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to fix the price of canned tuna.
Christopher Lischewski will have to serve 40 months in prison and pay a $100,000 fine as a result of being found guilty late last year after a four-week trial. He and three other defendants had been accused of conspiring to prop up the price of canned tuna. The other defendants pleaded guilty and testified against Lischewski.
Bumble Bee was charged with conspiring to fix tuna prices with two other industry giants: Starkist and Thai Union Group, which owns the Chicken of the Sea brand. Starkist agreed last September to pay a $100 million fine in the case.
Bumble Bee filed for bankruptcy after the case and was sold earlier this year to FCF Fishery, a longtime partner.
Lischewski maintains his innocence and has vowed to appeal.
