Former Blue Bell Creameries president accused of trying to cover up deadly listeria outbreak

Blue Bell Ice Cream is seen on shelves of an Overland Park grocery store prior to being removed on April 21, 2015 in Overland Park, Kansas. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Oct 22, 2020 / 12:10 PM PDT

Updated: Oct 22, 2020 / 12:10 PM PDT

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Authorities say the former president of Blue Bell Creameries has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly trying to cover up a 2015 listeria outbreak linked to the company’s ice cream that killed three people in Kansas and sickened several others.

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that a federal grand jury in Austin, Texas, returned a seven-count indictment charging Paul Kruse with six counts of wire fraud and one count to commit wire fraud.

This comes a little more than three months after a judge threw out previous charges against Kruse because prosecutors didn’t present them to a grand jury.

Kruse’s lawyer says the charges are unfounded and that he’ll argue they were brought after the statute of limitations had expired.