Conspiracy, racketeering and bribery were just a few of the crimes mentioned in a federal lawsuit filed in Sacramento late last week accusing Monterey-based SK Foods -- which has a large shipping plant in Lemoore as part of its facilities -- of offering bribes to corporate insiders at several major food companies across the country.

The 42-page document alleges that Randall Rahal, president of New Jersey company Intramark USA, Inc., was working as a broker for SK Foods roughly between January 2004 and April 2008 and was paying bribes to purchasing agents at food companies to ensure that they purchased their goods from SK Foods, rather than the competition. The document also alleges that SK Foods Chief Executive Officer Scott Salyer was encouraging the deals and had direct contact with Rahal several times to discuss the crimes being committed.

The court filings included a detailed affidavit from FBI Special Agent Paul Artley that outlined the ongoing investigation in SK Foods business dealings, which started in August 2005.

According to statements made in the suit, it appears that Rahal would approach employees at industry giants like Kraft Foods Inc., Safeway Inc. and Frito-Lay and drop a $100 bill in front of them. He would then say, "You must have dropped this, is it yours?" If they agreed, he knew they were open for a "business offer," which typically included money paid for inside information on competitors' bids. In some cases, the bribes were paid for an assurance that SK Foods would win the bid -- even if they were offering a higher price for their tomato-products than their competitors.

In April, the Internal Revenue Service seized more than $600,000 held in two separate accounts of Intramark USA, Inc. which was to be used in further bribery activities.

An unnamed witness is cited in the documents as saying that the bribes were to be paid through Intramark so as to insulate SK Foods from potential lawsuits. The witness went on to say that while the scheme was discussed, Chief Executive Officer Salyer was present.

The lawsuit is seeking an order to forfeit the seized money based on the criminal findings found thus far in the investigation. No official charges have been filed yet against any of the named parties in the suit.

The case is being jointly investigated by the FBI, the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS, the Office of the Inspector General, the Food and Drug Administration and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.

On April 17, just one day following the money seizure, the SK Foods plant in Lemoore was the target of an FBI search warrant. One employee at the scene said that SK Foods was "in dispute with governmental agencies" and that the agents were merely there to gather records.

SK Foods is in the middle of a pending federal class action lawsuit that alleges the company hired more than 5,000 illegal immigrants in a period between 2002 and 2006, which is a violation of the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations act.

Calls to the SK Foods Executive Offices in Monterey were not answered on Thursday.

SK Foods was named Lemoore's Business of the Year in 2007.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(Aug. 22, 2008)