Archer Daniels Midland hit with $40M fine in price-fixing probe, 30 years after fraud scandal

In the 1990s, the agricultural giant was implicated in a price-fixing conspiracy that became the basis for the book—and later Matt Damon movie—The Informant!. Now the company’s latest controversy centers around accounting in the company’s nutrition unit.

After an investigation of lasting almost three years, ADM has reached a $40 million civil penalty settlement with the SEC, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, over civil allegations that it misled investors about the performance of the nutrition segment, which produces ingredients for both human and animal food, the agency announced on Tuesday. Regulators alleged ADM used improper accounting to make the segment’s profits look stronger than they really were, primarily by shifting profits from other divisions through non‑market “intersegment” sales and other adjustments.

Former ADM executives Vince Macciocchi, former SVP and president of nutrition, and chief sales and marketing officer; Ray Young, who served as CFO from 2010 until 2022 and later as vice chairman; and Vikram Luthar, CFO from 2022 to 2024, were also charged in connection with the accounting and disclosure issues. Macciocchi agreed to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of about $404,343 dollars plus a $125,000 dollar civil penalty, and Young agreed to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling about $575,610 dollars and a $75,000 dollar civil penalty.

However, the SEC also announced on Tuesday that Luthar still faces accounting and disclosure fraud charges. He is being charged with allegedly materially inflating the performance of the nutrition segment which ADM touted to investors as an important driver of the company’s overall growth. The SEC’s complaint against Luthar alleges that he directed “adjustments” to nutrition’s transactions with other ADM business segments when nutrition was falling short of its operating profit targets for fiscal years 2021 and 2022. 

The adjustments included retroactive rebates and price changes not customarily available to ADM’s third-party customers that were essentially one-sided transfers of operating profit to nutrition, with the goal of making it appear that nutrition was meeting the 15% to 20% per year operating profit growth that Luthar and other ADM executives projected to investors, the SEC claims.

In response to the SEC’s filing, Junaid Zubairi of Vedder, who is representing Luthar, said in a statement sent to Fortune that the allegations are “meritless and the product of a one-sided complaint that omits significant exculpatory facts.” Zubairi stated that ADM hired experienced outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation and, as publicly disclosed in ADM’s March 25, 2025, proxy statement, Luthar was not found to have engaged in improper conduct.

“The SEC unjustly seeks to hold Mr. Luthar accountable for long-standing business practices at ADM,” Vedder said, adding that the “transactions in question were transparent and were considered, approved, and implemented in good faith at the company.” Luthar, who joined ADM in 2004 and became CFO in 2022, denies the charges and intends to fight the charges in court.

ADM (No. 50 on the Fortune 500) launched an internal investigation, voluntarily reported its findings to the SEC, put in place new internal accounting controls, and amended policies and procedures. In March 2024, ADM corrected certain prior period errors, and in November 2024, the company restated its previously issued 2023 Form 10-K and Forms 10-Q for the first and second quarters of 2024, in each instance to address errors in its historical segment reporting. “ADM has implemented significant changes to its financial leadership team and financial controls,” the company said in a press release on Tuesday. Monish Patolawala has been the EVP and CFO of ADM since August 1, 2024. He previously served as CFO of 3M.

ADM is “pleased to put these matters behind the company,” Juan Luciano, chair of the board, president and CEO, said in a statement. He emphasized that it has strengthened internal controls and financial reporting based on lessons learned, and pledged continued transparency, integrity, and focus on maintaining stakeholder trust.

Fortune previously reported that Luthar was placed on administrative leave in January 2024. In April of that year, the company announced he would resign, effective Sept. 30, 2024, as the Department of Justice criminal probe into ADM’s accounting practices ensued. The DOJ ultimately closed its criminal investigation and did not file charges. 

ADM’s nutrition business has long been central to the company’s strategy. In 2014, ADM made its largest acquisition to date with the $3 billion buyout purchase of European natural-ingredients maker Wild Flavors, aiming to diversify beyond traditional grain and oilseed trading. But weakening demand and uneven performance have prevented the segment from meeting early expectations—pressures that now sit at the center of the SEC’s case.