Dive Brief:
- Federal prosecutors have indicted the two sons of an Iowa meat company businessman in connection with an alleged fraud involving halal certification.
- Jalel and William "Yahya" Aossey will be arraigned Dec. 15. The two are corporate officers of Midamar and Islamic Services of America, the companies founded by their father, William B. Aossey. The companies themselves were also indicted.
- William B. Aossey was indicted in October for allegedly conspiring to change labels and forge documents before shipping non-halal meat to Indonesia and Malaysia.
Dive Insight:
When a federal judge postponed the trial of William Aossey earlier this month, there was speculation that prosecutors might have reached a deal with Aossey. But now it appears the judge should have been taken at his word: he said then that "extended pretrial preparation" would be needed in a case that seemed quite complicated. And the case is now even more complex.
