Tolland Businessman Pleads In Case Of Fake E. Coli Tests

STAFFORD/TOLLAND, CT — A Tolland resident who owns a Stafford-based meat processing business has entered a plea in a federal case involving fudged E.coli test results, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut and Carmen Rottenberg, an administrator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said that 32-year-old Memet Beqiri, also known as Matt Beqiri, waived his right to be indicted and entered a guilty plea Tuesday in Hartford federal court to a charge related to his meat processing business’s "falsification of numerous E. coli test results."

According to court documents and statements made in court, Beqiri is the owner and general manager of New England Meat Packing, LLC, located in Stafford Springs. It's a federally inspected business engaged in the slaughtering, processing, selling and transporting of meat and meat food products "for human consumption," according to case records.

Pursuant to the USDA’s approved Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plan for New England Meat Packing, the company is required to perform one "generic" E. coli carcass swab for every 300 animals slaughtered and to periodically collect ground beef samples for E. coli testing.

Durham said that, between Nov. 3, 2016 and Sept. 9, 2017, Beqiri authorized the preparation and submission in the company’s Lab Sample Report binder, which the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service reviews, a total of 36 documents relating to 52 separate carcass swabs and ground beef samples on behalf of New England Meat Packing.

The 36 documents were each on the letterhead of a certified laboratory that tests food product samples to ensure safety and wholesomeness and signed by the laboratory director, he said.

The documents stated that the required E. coli testing of samples submitted by New England Meat Packing had been conducted and completed, and that all 52 samples tested negative for E. coli, according to case records.

Durham said none of the 52 carcass swabs and samples had been submitted or tested by the identified laboratory, or any other laboratory and the 36 documents were fraudulently prepared using laboratory letterhead obtained from previous testing that New England Meat Packing had conducted with that laboratory.

During a federal investigation, Beqiri admitted that the documents were fraudulent and that his business did not collect and submit the samples to the certified laboratory because he did not correlate the potential impact on food safety with his sampling program and wanted to create the appearance he was compliant with all USDA HACCP testing requirements, Durham said.

There have been no known instances of illnesses reported by anyone who consumed the meat in any of the states where the meat was distributed, according to a report.

"After this defendant’s fraudulent conduct was uncovered, he admitted to an investigator that he ignored the USDA’s meat testing requirements because he considered the process to be an inconvenience and a nuisance," Durham said. "Such reckless conduct seriously endangers public safety and will be prosecuted."

Added Rottenburg, "FSIS investigators are on the job protecting public health every day. Our work is critical to protect American families and the food supply, and we will not tolerate blatant disregard for food safety laws."

Beqiri pleaded guilty to one count of making and using a false document and aiding and abetting, a charge that carries a maximum term of five years in prison.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson on Nov 12.

Beqiri was released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing.

Durham said the plea agreement filed Tuesday in association with Beqiri’s guilty plea does not address "potential civil administrative consequences for New England Meat Packing’s failure to test the meat it distributed."