The US Justice Department has identified some of the largest customers, who are potential victims of an alleged canned tuna price fixing conspiracy, although federal prosecutors acknowledged that there could be “hundreds of corporate victims” at various levels, according the federal government’s latest motions filed at the federal court in San Francisco.

Last month, federal prosecutors filed separate, but identical, criminal cases against Bumble Bee Seafood executives, Walter Scott Cameron and Kenneth Worsham, for conspiring with others to fix the prices of packaged seafood such as canned tuna sold in the United States.

According to electronic court records, Cameron will make his initial appearance and arraignment on Jan. 25 while arraignment and initial appearance for Worsham is set for March 1. (See Samoa News edition Dec. 10 and Dec. 22 for details on charges against Cameron and Worsham.)

The federal cases are the result of a federal grand jury, sitting in San Francisco, which has been conducting a criminal investigation since early last year into packaged seafood products. The federal probe is separate from civil lawsuit cases heard at the federal court in San Diego against the nation’s major canned tuna companies - such as StarKist Co., Thai Union and its US subsidiary Chicken of the Sea International, and Bumble Bee - over similar allegations of price fixing.

According to USDOJ both Cameron and Worsham have agreed to plea guilty to the price fixing conspiracy charge. Bumble Bee had told Samoa News last month that the San Diego based company is cooperating with the federal probe as well as Cameron and Worsham - both of whom are on leave.

Under provisions of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the US government must provide the court with a statement identifying corporate victims of criminal activity, according to prosecutors in identical court filings last week in the cases of Cameron and Worsham.

According to prosecutors, antitrust conspiracies often affect “dozens or even hundreds of corporate victims at various levels of the downstream market.” And the two cases are no exemption.

“Dozens of companies directly purchased packaged-seafood products from the conspirators in this case during the conspiracy period,” said Tai S. Milder, trial attorney with USDOJ, in court documents.

Based on information currently available, however, the United States has identified what it believes are some of the largest customers potentially affected by the alleged conspiracy, according to Milder, who noted that should the court require further information or further identification of the companies listed, the United States will do its best to supply the additional information.

Names of possible corporate victims - just over 45 - in the list filed for both Cameron and Worsham are identical. And the listed victims include Costco Wholesale, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Target, ShopRite Supermarkets, Dollar General, Walgreens and Walmart.