SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, June 16, former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods Christopher Lischewski received a sentence of three years in jail, as well as a $100,000 criminal fine for his involvement in a three-year-long conspiracy scheme to fix the prices of canned tuna products.

His conviction was ordered by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco after a trial that lasted four weeks.

An investigation into the matter has been jointly led by the FBI’s Antitrust Division in San Francisco and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. The evidence showed that Lischewski’s price-fixing impacted “hundreds of millions of dollars in sales throughout the United States,” according to a statement by the United States Justice Department.

He was indicted in May 2018 for a one-count felony charge of price-fixing. At the time, it was alleged that Lischewski worked with others to announce prices for companies within the industry to follow.

Lischewski was charged with three other people in the conspiracy. The three co-conspirators pleaded guilty and served as witnesses in Lischewski’s trial. Bumble Bee Foods and StarKist, another packaged seafood company, were both charged in the investigation. Bumble Bee pleaded guilty to the charges and had to pay a minimum of $25 million. StarKist was sentenced to a $100 million fine.

Bumble Bee Foods did not immediately respond to a comment request, while StarKist declined to comment on their role in the investigation.

Regarding the verdict, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said in a statement, “The jury’s verdict is a reminder that no one, including members of the C-Suite, is above the law. Executives who conspire to cheat consumers for their own benefit will be held accountable for their illegal conduct.”

The investigation into anti-trust violations in the packaged seafood industry is ongoing. The FBI urges anyone with information regarding price-fixing, bid rigging, or other illegal market practices to contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300, file a complaint on the website, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.