OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washingtonians have until Wednesday to file a claim to be eligible for restitution payments that are due because of chicken and tuna price-fixing.
State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said that 24,492 claims checks will head to Washington residents after a pair of antitrust lawsuits against chicken and tuna producers. Ferguson said the checks will equal $2.59 million for eligible households throughout the state.
In December, Ferguson said these restitution checks will be mailed to every household whose income is at or below 175% of the federal poverty level. The poverty level is $15,060 for a single person and $31,200 for a family of four.
Washingtonians can file a claim for a check online here. Eligible single-person households will receive $50 checks, while multi-person households will receive $120 checks.
Examples of those who will receive checks include:
- A family of five with a household income of less than $61,495;
- A single parent raising three kids on an income of $52,500, or less;
- A single parent with two children making less than $43,505 per year;
- A single parent of one, or a retired couple living on two fixed incomes, that total less than $34,510; or
- A retired individual who lives alone on a fixed income of less than $25,515 per year.
Questions about eligibility or the claims process can be directed to 866-601-1516 or send an email to refundcheck@atg.wa.gov.
As of two weeks ago, the attorney general's office said 273,080 households cashed checks originally sent in December. These totaled $26.85 million. Another 2,980 Washingtonians have received and cashed out over $300,000 in claims checks, the attorney general's office said in a release.
“My legal team took on multiple large price-fixing schemes that increased the cost of food for Washingtonians, and we’re putting money back in the pockets of those who were most impacted,” Ferguson said in a release. “Washington families were cheated by corporate price-fixing conspiracies they knew nothing about. Time is running out to get your fair share. Go to refundcheck.atg.wa.gov today to file your claim. My legal team and I will continue standing up to corporate greed when it harms Washingtonians.”
Ferguson said the 19 broiler chicken producers named in the lawsuit account for almost 95% of "broiler" chickens sold in the United States. This includes chicken breasts consumers purchase at the grocery store to nuggets and sandwiches at fast food restaurants.
The attorney general's office said in the lawsuit that producers drove up the price of chicken since at least 2008, causing consumers to overpay by millions. According to the lawsuit, the scheme involved a "widespread illegal conspiracy" to inflate and manipulate prices, rig contract bids, illegally exchange information and coordinate supply reductions to maximize profits.
Ferguson said Washington was the first state to hold chicken production companies accountable for their roles in the price-fixing conspiracy.
Washington also has more than $5.1 million for consumers after case resolutions against major tuna companies. StarKist agreed to a $4.1 million resolution, Chicken of the Sea will pay $500,000 and former Bumble Bee Foods CEO Christopher Lischewski agreed to a $100,000 resolution.
According to Ferguson, executives of the three companies called each other, texted, used private emails and had face-to-face meetings at hotels and restaurants to avoid detection. The executives were accused of exchanging internal company policies and data.
The lawsuit said Lischewski complained to other tuna executives that canned tuna was "too cheap" and he wanted the companies to make consumers pay more. Two of the former CEOs' employees said he gave an order to fix canned tuna prices.