The indictment, issued on 3 June, alleges that Penn and three other poultry industry executives sought to set a fixed price for chickens between 2012 and 2017.

Reuters reports that Pilgrim’s Pride’s board of directors appointed CFO Fabio Sandri as interim president and chief executive of the company, which is majority owned by Brazilian meat packing giant JBS SA.

"The board takes the recent allegations very seriously and believes it is in the best interests of both Jayson and the company that he is given the opportunity to focus on his legal defence during this time," Chairman Gilberto Tomazoni said in a statement.

The charges against Penn and three others in the industry are the first in a criminal probe of price-fixing and bid-rigging involving broiler birds, which account for most chicken meat sold in the United States.

The companies have denied the allegations.

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