Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Bribe USDA Egg Production Facility Inspector
A man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector at a Wright County, Iowa, egg production facility, USDA announced in a recent release.
Tony Wasmund admitted at a plea hearing to conspiring with at least one other person to bribe a public official, sell restricted eggs with intent to defraud and sell misbranded food with intent to defraud and mislead, USDA said.
As part of the conspiracy, Wasmund admitted that he authorized the disbursement of $300 from an egg production business in order to bribe a USDA inspector. The purpose of the bribe was to influence the USDA inspector to release retained eggs that USDA said failed to meet USDA standards.
Wasmund faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a fine equal to the greater of twice the gross gain resulting from the offense, twice the gross loss resulting from the offense, or $250,000, a $100 special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment, USDA said.
The case was investigated by USDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, USDA’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Deegan and Department of Justice Consumer Protection Branch Trial Attorneys Lisa Hsiao and Christopher Parisi.
