Allen Family Foods defrauded out of $1.3 million, feds say

Over five years, a Sussex County trucking company stole about $1.3 million from now-bankrupt Allen Family Foods in a double billing scheme, federal authorities say. According toThe News Journal, Dutton Trucking paid an Allen employee to process fraudulent invoices for trucking loads. Husband and wife owners Donald Lee Dutton Sr. and Vicki Dutton each face one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and five counts of mail fraud in a federal court.

Allen's insurance carrier paid the company back for the losses, said U.S. Assistant Attorney Ilana Eisenstein, meaning that the fraud was not a direct contributor to Allen's failure. The company had filed for bankruptcy on June 9, blaming high prices for corn, operational mistakes and Wilmington Trust's decision to cut its credit line. It was acquired by Harim Group, Korea's largest poultry producer, which said that it would continue running the company's existing plants and buy from its contract growers.

Sources: The News Journal, USA Today

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