FELONY CHARGES DISMISSED AGAINST FORMER BLUE BELL PRESIDENT, CEO PAUL KRUSE

  

Charges against Blue Bell’s former President and CEO Paul Kruse, who was accused of conspiracy, wire fraud, and attempted wire fraud in connection with the 2015 listeria outbreak, have been dismissed by a federal judge in Austin.

Kruse was charged in May with seven felonies, with court documents alleging he and other Blue Bell executives knew of unsanitary conditions at Blue Bell’s manufacturing facilities from as far back as 2010 and did nothing to rectify them.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman dismissed the charges, citing a lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  Kruse’s defense lawyers, Chris Flood and John Cline, successfully argued that the U.S. District Court for Western Texas lacked jurisdiction over the charges because the Department of Justice (DOJ) did not obtain a Grand Jury indictment or a valid waiver.  A Grand Jury was not empaneled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Kruse left his position as President and CEO of the company in February 2017, and left the board of directors in February 2019.  He had pleaded not guilty to the seven felony charges, which, had he been convicted, carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each felony.

At the time Kruse was charged, Blue Bell agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of distributing adulterated ice cream products during the outbreak, which resulted in three deaths and several illnesses.  Blue Bell also agreed to pay $19.35 million in fine, forfeiture, and civil settlement payments, which the DOJ said was the second largest-ever amount paid to resolve a food safety matter.

Blue Bell said at the time of the plea agreement that upon restarting production in the summer of 2015, it has implemented upgraded production facilities, training, safety procedures, and environmental and product testing programs.