SAN FRANCISCO - A six-week criminal trial of FedEx Corp. began in federal court in San Francisco Monday with a prosecutor accusing the company of acting as a "prolific drug courier" in delivering millions of packages of illegal drugs between 2000 and 2010.
"We are very confident that we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that FedEx had knowledge of exactly what online pharmacies were doing - that is, selling drugs without legitimate prescriptions," prosecutor John Hemann told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer.
"The motive of FedEx was to make money," Hemann continued.
"It wanted to get its money before the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration shut down the pharmacies," he said in his opening statement.
Breyer will decide the case without a jury. Both sides agreed last week on the eve of jury selection to give up their right to a jury.
The Memphis-based shipping company was indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco in 2014.
more San Francisco: Prosecution says FedEx was a drug courier, defense says company is innocent - San Jose Mercury News