Family Dollar Stores LLC Admits Guilt for Storing Consumer Products in Unsanitary Conditions and Agrees to Pay $41.675 million for their Involvement with a Warehouse Infested with Rodents

As part of the plea agreement, both Family Dollar and Dollar Tree are required to adhere to strict corporate compliance and reporting standards for the next three years

Family Dollar Stores LLC has admitted its guilt in a shocking case involving unsanitary conditions at its distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas. The company pleaded guilty to holding various FDA-regulated products, including food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics, in conditions that were unfit for human use due to a rodent infestation.

In a federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, a criminal information was unsealed, charging Family Dollar with one misdemeanor count. This count accused the company of causing FDA-regulated products to become adulterated while being stored in insanitary conditions.

As a result of this plea, Family Dollar, which is a subsidiary of Dollar Tree Inc., has agreed to pay a staggering $41.675 million in fines and forfeitures. This is the largest-ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case.

Furthermore, as part of the plea agreement, both Family Dollar and Dollar Tree are required to adhere to strict corporate compliance and reporting standards for the next three years. This ensures that they take the necessary steps to prevent such unsanitary conditions from occurring again. The guilty plea and sentencing were overseen by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerome T. Kearney during a hearing held today

“When consumers go to the store, they have the right to expect that the food and drugs on the shelves have been kept in clean, uncontaminated conditions,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer.  “When companies violate that trust and the laws designed to keep consumers safe, the public should rest assured: The Justice Department will hold those companies accountable.”

“Companies distributing and selling food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics must ensure that these products are being held in safe and sanitary conditions,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work closely with the FDA to investigate and prosecute those who put public health at risk by failing to meet this important obligation.”

“Consumers trust that products purchased from retail stores such as Family Dollar are safe,” said U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “It is incomprehensible that Family Dollar knew about the rodent and pest issues at its distribution center in Arkansas but continued to ship products that were unsafe and insanitary. Knowingly selling these types of products not only places the public’s health at risk but erodes the trust consumers have in the products they purchase. Products shipped and sold are required to be safe for consumers and the safety of Arkansans and others are extremely important to this office. Let me be clear, if you conduct business in Arkansas and allow the shipment or sale of unsafe and insanitary products, you will be held accountable.”

“U.S. consumers rely on the FDA to ensure that their food is safe and wholesome,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) Kansas City Field Office. “When companies put themselves above the law and distribute food that has been held under extremely insanitary conditions, putting the public’s health at risk, we will see that they are brought to justice.” 

The company, in confessing its guilt, acknowledged that its distribution center in Arkansas had shipped FDA-regulated items to over 400 Family Dollar stores across Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. As per the plea agreement, the company started receiving complaints in August 2020 regarding pest and mouse problems in the delivered goods. By the end of the same year, specific stores reported receiving rodents and products damaged by these pests from the warehouse. The company admitted that by January 2021, some of its employees were already aware that the unhygienic conditions at the warehouse had caused FDA-regulated products to become contaminated, violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).

As per the plea agreement, the company was found to have continued shipping FDA-regulated products from the warehouse until January 2022. An FDA inspection uncovered live rodents, dead rodents, rodent feces, urine, odors, and signs of gnawing and nesting throughout the facility. Following fumigation, 1,270 rodents were reported exterminated. Subsequently, on Feb. 18, 2022, the company voluntarily recalled all drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and food products sold since Jan. 1, 2021 in the 404 stores serviced by the warehouse.

The case was thoroughly investigated by FDA-OCI Special Agents Chad Medaris and Daniel Allgeyer, who left no stone unturned. Taking charge of the prosecution were Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorney Alisha Crovetto from the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Peters and Cameron McCree for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Together, they worked tirelessly to bring justice to this case.

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