The CEO of Blue Bell Creameries L.P., Paul Kruse, represented by Chris Flood and John Cline, asked that criminal charges against him be dropped by Judge Robert Pitman in the Western District of Texas. He claimed there was a “lack of subject matter jurisdiction” and that the United States continued to address issues that were not before the court. The court dismissed the case on Wednesday.
The CEO was accused of allowing manufacturing facilities to continue running between 2010 and 2015, despite the presence of Listeria bacteria or despite the fact that sanitary regulations to prevent the bacteria were not followed. Allegedly, Kruse met with an employee responsible for testing and asked them to stop testing certain products for Listeria.
The government accused the CEO of devising a scheme or conspiracy and wire fraud because he attempted to cover up cases where Listeria was found in Blue Bell products. Kruse and his lawyers said they “strongly disagree with the government’s analysis” and that its claims are not within the statute of limitations.
“If and when the government persuades a grand jury to return an indictment, we will file a motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds, in which we will explain in detail the errors in the government’s argument. Until a grand jury returns an indictment, however, the statute of limitations issue is not ripe, and the Court lacks jurisdiction to provide the advisory opinion that the government seeks,” the motion to dismiss stated.
The United States alleged in its response to the motion to dismiss that it “properly instituted a felony criminal information” against the defendant, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented convening a grand jury. “The defendant chose not to waive prosecution by indictment, and the information therefore should now be dismissed,” the response stated. It said the United States can seek a new indictment within six months of the case being dismissed. The response asked for the court to find that the instituted charges were within the statute of limitations and that the plaintiff can seek a new indictment.
