News

Suprema Specialties cheese fraud case settled with SEC

January 8, 2004

PATERSON, N.J.—The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges against the former executives of now-defunct New Jersey cheese maker Suprema Specialties and some of its vendors.

According to Just-Food.com, both parties were accused of overstating the company's revenues by around $700 million.

The SEC claimed that between 1998 and late 2001, executives at Suprema Specialties inflated revenue by generating fictitious transactions and re-labeling certain cheeses as "premium" to inflate inventory.

The SEC also said the company lied about the ingredients of its cheeses, saying they were natural or all-natural when they contained imitation and non-cheese products.

The settlement is still subject to court approval, and penalties will be assessed at a later date.

Read related Suprema stories ...
* Investor class-action suit filed against Suprema Specialties
* Suprema Specialties files for bankruptcy
* Suprema closes Calif. plant, 160 jobs lost