Ex-manager for Foster Farms gets probation in fraud case

A judge Monday ordered three years of probation for a former Foster Farms manager accused of improper billing for improvements at the Livingston chicken plant.

Surjit Toor, 61, of Hilmar was sentenced by Judge Dale Drozd in U.S. District Court in Fresno. The defendant, who had been a maintenance manager, already has paid $46,979 in restitution to Foster Farms.

Toor pleaded guilty Feb. 8 to conspiring in 2012 to have $46,979 worth of work billed to his son’s business, Mid State Mechanical. It was not a contractor on the two projects.

One was the installation of a catwalk for use by U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors. The other involved changes to an ammonia tank used in refrigeration.

The case was prosecuted as conspiracy to commit mail fraud because of Toor’s use of the U.S. Postal Service for the scheme. The charge has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but Drozd considered mitigating factors that made it much less.

A grand jury in 2014 indicted Toor and his son, Raju Toor, 34, on charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The prosecution agreed in January to seek dismissal of the son’s case after a year if he does not commit any crimes.

The plant is the largest for the Livingston-based company. It also processes turkey in Turlock and has chicken plants in Fresno, Porterville and four other states.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Ex-manager for Foster Farms gets probation in fraud case."