AG: Chicken producer fined $460,000 for inflating prices, costing consumers millions

Attorney General (AG) Bob Ferguson announced Wednesday that another chicken producer will pay thousands of dollars for driving up the price of chicken, causing consumers to overpay by millions of dollars.

According to a press release from the AG’s Office, House of Raeford Farms and other chicken producers have been driving up the price of chicken since 2008. Ferguson’s lawsuit asserts these producers were part of a widespread conspiracy to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids and coordinate industry supply reductions to maximize their profits.

FILE - Chicken at a grocery store on Sept. 16, 2021, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)

FILE - Chicken at a grocery store on Sept. 16, 2021, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)

House of Raeford Farms will pay $460,000 to resolve claims against it.

"As a result of corporate greed and illegal price-fixing, Washingtonians paid more for chicken without realizing it," Ferguson said. "We are holding accountable those responsible, and getting money back to Washington families who were most harmed. We will continue to serve as a force for economic justice for Washingtonians."

Of the 19 companies listed in the anti-trust lawsuit, only two are left facing an October 2024 trial in King County Superior Court: Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms, which merged after Ferguson filed the lawsuit.

$35.5 million was recovered from the first 15 companies listed in the lawsuit, and according to the AG, that money is already on its way to Washingtonians. Once Ferguson’s lawsuit against the remaining co-conspirators is complete, the Office will decide where to allocate the recoveries. According to the release, the AG’s Office will prioritize consumer restitution, cost and fee recovery and supporting future enforcement efforts.

If the case against the two remaining companies is settled at trial, the judge will direct how the funds are used.

According to the AG’s Office, all the companies who have signed resolutions will work to produce information and documentation that will be used in the case against the two remaining co-conspirators.

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