Two officials at West Texas Provisions Inc. have pleaded guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States. President Jeffrey Neal Smith, 49, and operations manager Derrick Martinez, 43, tampered with ground beef destined for federal prisons by adding beef hearts and still selling it as “ground beef.” A sentencing date has not been announced, but each man faces up to five years in prison.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The defendants admitted to selling more than 775,000 pounds of uninspected, misbranded or altered meat to 32 prisons in 18 states, for which federal prison officials paid $1,011,166.72, according to federal court documents. They processed the cow hearts and added it to the ground beef on nights and weekends when inspectors were not present.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
