The nation's largest dairy cooperative and two former officers have agreed to pay a total of $12 million as part of a federal investigation into a possible price manipulation scheme.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been investigating the Dairy Farmers of America for a series of 2004 trades of cheese futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (nyse: CME - news - people ). The price of cheese futures can affect milk prices.
Under the agreement announced Tuesday, a former chief executive of the cooperative, Gary Hanman, and former Chief Financial Officer Gerald Bos will pay part of the penalty.
The Kansas City-based cooperative said it wasn't admitting or denying wrongdoing but agreed to settle "to put this matter behind us."