REPORTS: KRUSE TO PLEAD GUILTY TO MISDEMEANOR IN LISTERIA CASE; ALL FRAUD CHARGES TO BE DISMISSED

  

Former Blue Bell Creameries President and CEO Paul Kruse and the federal government have agreed to a settlement dismissing all fraud charges against him in connection to the company's 2015 listeria outbreak, according to multiple reports.

Through the settlement, per the Wall Street Journal and KPRC-TV, Kruse will agree to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for food safety violations. He will also pay a $100,000 fine and serve no time in prison.

In a statement to the two media outlets, Kruse's attorney, Chris Flood, said the settlement "confirms what Mr. Kruse has been saying from the very beginning, no one at Blue Bell ever intended to defraud its customers." He said they are "happy that the government has reached the same conclusion."

The settlement comes as preparations were underway to hold a second trial in April for Kruse, after the first one ended in August with a hung jury.

Kruse was initially charged in May 2020 on accusations that he concealed what Blue Bell knew about listeria contamination at its facilities. The charges were dismissed because an indictment was not obtained from a federal grand jury, but that indictment came in October 2020.

The fraud charges faced by Kruse carried a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

In a separate case, Blue Bell pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of distributing adulterated ice cream products.  The company agreed to pay a total of $19.35 million in fines, forfeitures and civil settlement payments.