Fleming settles SEC case; suppliers fined

Lewisville TX-based Fleming Companies has settled charges of improper accounting, and several of its suppliers will be assessed penalties arising from the food distributor overstating profits in 2001–02, according to a Houston Chronicle newspaper article.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the penalized suppliers include Dean Foods and Kraft Foods. They and others consented to pay fines ranging from $100,000 to $400,000, and some of their workers agreed to pay $25,000 to $75,000.

The SEC does not plan to seek civil penalties against Fleming, which once was the top grocery distributor in the United States. In April 2003, Fleming sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and emerged from it recently.