A Morrilton farmer who runs Petit Jean Farm was sentenced Friday to three years' probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine for admittedly selling mislabeled meat in 2010 and 2011.
Ed Martsolf, 67, also must pay restitution of $3,257.07, to be divided among about 50 people who were considered "end users" of the meat that was falsely labeled as coming from "grass-fed" animals but was actually obtained commercially and fraudulently relabeled.
In January, Martsolf pleaded guilty to two felonies, admitting that he mislabeled meat that his family farm sold in 2010 and 2011 to grocery stores and restaurants in Arkansas, to claim falsely that it had been inspected by agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
No illnesses were ever reported as a result of anyone eating the misbranded meat, but in late February 2011, the USDA recalled several of the company's meat products -- beef, pork, lamb and chicken.
Petit Jean Farm, the Martsolf family business that has been in operation for more than 30 years, isn't affiliated with a more well-known operation that does business as Petit Jean Meats.
Martsolf first appeared for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright in June, but the judge postponed the hearing until Friday to give attorneys time to determine how many victims were due restitution. Although Martsolf had originally agreed to pay $30,000 to $70,000 in restitution to three Little Rock restaurants that were considered victims, defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig successfully argued that the restaurants weren't entitled to restitution because they sold food made from the meat at a profit and never received any complaints. Rosenzweig argued, and Wright agreed, that paying them restitution would essentially be allowing them to double their profits.
Wright noted Friday that she had received a letter from a proprietor of a business in Little Rock that sold the meat as part of its "locally grown" products, not knowing that the meat had been falsely labeled. The letter's author complained that the discovery that the $41,210 in meat the business bought from Martsolf between 2007 and 2011 was mislabeled affected the organizations' credibility with its customers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lipe, citing the difficulty in tracking down the "end users" of the mislabeled meat, presented the judge with a list of about 50 people who the USDA tracked down as "end users," each of whom will be entitled to a small amount of restitution if they can be located.
Martsolf told the judge that he made a "bad decision" for which he apologizes, but that never set out to do wrong.
He had faced up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $20,000, as well as restitution.
Metro on 09/06/2014