Author Archives: Brad Geyer

United States Settles False Claims Act Suit Against Good Shepherd Hospice Inc. and Related Entities

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Midwest Hospice Chain Allegedly Billed Medicare for Ineligible Patients

Today, Good Shepherd Hospice Inc., Good Shepherd Hospice of Mid America Inc., Good Shepherd Hospice, Wichita, L.L.C., Good Shepherd Hospice, Springfield, L.L.C., and Good Shepherd Hospice – Dallas L.L.C. (collectively Good Shepherd) agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that Good Shepherd submitted false claims for hospice patients who were not terminally ill.  Good Shepherd is a for-profit hospice headquartered in Oklahoma City which provides hospice services in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Texas.

“The Medicare hospice benefit is intended to provide comfort and care to patients nearing the end of life,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “We will continue to aggressively pursue companies that abuse the hospice benefit to improperly inflate their profits.”

The Medicare hospice benefit is available for patients who elect palliative treatment (medical care focused on providing patients with relief from pain, symptoms or stress) for a terminal illness and have a life expectancy of six months or less if their illness runs its normal course.  When a Medicare patient receives hospice services, that individual is no longer entitled to Medicare coverage for care designed to cure his or her illness.

The government alleged that Good Shepherd knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for hospice care for patients who were not terminally ill.  Specifically, the United States contended that Good Shepherd engaged in certain business practices that contributed to claims being submitted for patients who did not have a terminal prognosis of six months or less, by pressuring staff to meet admissions and census targets and paying bonuses to staff, including hospice marketers, admissions nurses and executive directors, based on the number of patients enrolled.  The United States further alleged that Good Shepherd hired medical directors based on their ability to refer patients, focusing particularly on medical directors with ties to nursing homes, which were seen as an easy source of patient referrals.  The United States also alleged that Good Shepherd failed to properly train staff on the hospice eligibility criteria.

“Health care fraud puts profits above patients, and steals from taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri.  “In this case, company whistleblowers alleged that patients received unnecessary hospice care while Good Shepherd engaged in illicit business practices to enrich itself at the public’s expense.  Today’s settlement fairly resolves those issues and puts measures in place to prevent similar conduct in the future.”

In addition, as part of the settlement, each Good Shepherd entity agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), which will provide for procedures and reviews to be put into place to avoid and promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to the settlement.

“Being a hospice provider in the Medicare program is a privilege, not a right,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the HHS-OIG Dallas Region.  “Hospice providers that seek to boost profits by providing hospice services to Medicare beneficiaries who are not terminally ill compromise both the health of its patients as well as the integrity of Medicare.  Our agency will continue to hold such hospice providers accountable for their actions.”

The settlement resolves allegations filed by relators Kathi Cordingley and Tracy Jones, former employees of Good Shepherd, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which authorize private parties to sue for fraud on behalf of the United States and share in the recovery.  The relators will receive approximately $680,000.

This suit is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23.5 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $15 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

This matter was investigated by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri and HHS-OIG.  The claims asserted against defendants are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Cordingley and Jones v. Good Shepherd Hospice, Mid America, Inc., No. 4:11-cv-1087 (W.D. Mo.).

Former Supervisory Contracting Officer Arrested in Navy Bribery Scandal

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A former senior federal contracting officer was arrested this morning for conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with his alleged role in a scheme to steer contracts and benefits to Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a defense contracting firm headquartered in Singapore.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California, Director Andrew L. Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Deputy Inspector General of Investigations James B. Burch of the Department of Defense (DCIS) made the announcement.

“Today’s arrest in this ongoing investigation demonstrates our continued resolve to root out all of the corrupt officials involved in this bribery scheme,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “As alleged, Paul Simpkins misused his position as a contracting officer at the U.S. Navy to obtain bribes of cash, air travel, hotel rooms, and prostitutes, and his actions tarnish the reputation earned by the vast majority of U.S. Navy officers and enlisted and civilian personnel.”

“With the arrest of Paul Simpkins, who was recently among the Defense Department’s high ranking civilians we have uncovered yet another tentacle of this pervasive bribery scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Duffy.  “The more we learn about the extent of the greed and corruption, the more determined we are to eviscerate it.”

“As we’ve mentioned previously, the GDMA investigation is far from over,” said Director Traver.  “NCIS will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to bring to justice those who were involved in perpetrating this massive fraud on the Department of the Navy and the American taxpayer.  Active leads remain and NCIS will stay on the case until our work is done.”

“As the filing of today’s Criminal Complaint and subsequent arrest of Paul Simpkins shows, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and its law enforcement partners will continue to identify and investigate those individuals who seek to defraud the U.S. taxpayer,” said Deputy Inspector General of Investigations Burch.  “Any individual, regardless of position, who allowed Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd. to prosper at the expense of the American taxpayer, will be brought to justice.”

Paul Simpkins, 60, of Haymarket, Virginia, is the latest individual to be arrested in connection with a corruption probe involving the U.S. Navy, GDMA, and its owner, Leonard Glenn Francis.  At this morning’s hearing, United States Magistrate Judge Jones of the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Simpkins to be detained pending a bond hearing set for Feb. 4, 2015.  To date, seven individuals, including Francis, and GDMA have entered guilty pleas as part of the investigation.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, Simpkins held several manager-level contracting positions throughout the federal government, including Supervisory Contract Special at the U.S. Navy Regional Contracting Center in Singapore from April 2005 through June 2007, and manager in the Department of Defense’s Office of Small Business Programs from December 2007 to August 2012.  The complaint alleges that between May 2006 and September 2012, Simpkins accepted several hundred thousand dollars in cash and wire transfers, travel and entertainment expenses, hotel rooms and the services of prostitutes.  In return, Simpkins allegedly helped steer lucrative U.S. Navy contracts to Francis and GDMA, advocated for and advanced the interests of GDMA in contract disputes, and assisted in preventing GDMA’s competitors from receiving U.S. Navy business.

The complaint specifically alleges that, beginning in early 2006, Simpkins and Francis held a series of meetings at a hotel in Singapore in which Francis agreed to provide Simpkins with things of value in return for help in steering lucrative ship husbanding contracts to GDMA.  Specifically, the complaint alleges that Francis paid Simpkins by hand-delivering over $150,000 in cash and by making several wire transfers to a bank account held in the name of Simpkins’s wife at the time.  To conceal the true nature of the wire transfers, Simpkins allegedly used an email account belonging to his mistress to advise Francis of the routing and account information of the bank account belonging to his wife.

In return for the things of value, Simpkins allegedly used his influence within the U.S. Navy to benefit GDMA, including by helping GDMA to secure lucrative ship husbanding contracts to service U.S. Navy vessels in Thailand and the Philippines.  In addition, Simpkins allegedly interceded on GDMA’s behalf in contract disputes with the U.S. Navy.  The complaint specifically alleges that in 2006, Simpkins’s subordinate recommended that GDMA’s husbanding contract in Thailand not be extended due to “many exceedingly high cost” items.  Simpkins allegedly overruled his subordinate and extended GDMA’s contract.

In another example, Simpkins allegedly instructed U.S. Navy officials in Hong Kong to discontinue the use of meters that monitored the volume of liquid waste that GDMA removed from U.S. Navy ships under its husbanding contracts.  The use of these meters would have ensured proper accounting of the actual amount of waste removed to ensure that no overbilling occurred.  Simpkins also allegedly instructed a U.S. Navy official not to review invoices that GDMA submitted in connection to a recent port call in Hong Kong after Francis complained that U.S. Navy personnel were asking questions.

The charges contained in a complaint are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by NCIS and DCIS.The case is being prosecuted by Director of Procurement Fraud Catherine Votaw and Senior Trial Attorney Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Robert S. Huie of the Southern District of California.

Those with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.

Army National Guard Official Pleads Guilty for Accepting $30,000 Bribe

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An Army National Guard official pleaded guilty today for accepting a $30,000 bribe in exchange for steering a $3.6 million contract to a retired sergeant major of the Minnesota Army National Guard and his consulting company.  Today’s guilty plea is the eighth in connection with an investigation into corruption within the National Guard Bureau related to the awarding of millions of dollars of Army National Guard marketing, retention and recruitment contracts.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Assistant Director in Charge Andrew McCabe of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office and Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit (Army-CID) made the announcement.

Jason Rappoccio, 39, of Hampton, South Carolina, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of bribery.  Rappoccio was indicted on Sept. 25, 2014, and will be sentenced on May 22, 2015.

According to plea documents, Rappoccio, who was an active duty sergeant first class in the Army National Guard, admitted to accepting a $30,000 bribe from Timothy Bebus, a retired sergeant major of the Minnesota Army National Guard and owner of Mil-Team Consulting and Solutions LLC (Mil-Team).  In exchange, Rappoccio agreed to recommend the award of a $3.6 million contract to Mil-Team and to steer the contract to a Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) certified company, chosen by Bebus, that would sub-contract the work to Mil-Team.

Rappoccio admitted that he received the $30,000 bribe in installments to conceal the payment.  Bebus gave $6,000 in cash directly to Rappoccio at a meeting in Arlington, Virginia.  The remaining $24,000 was paid in a cashier’s check in the name of Rappoccio’s wife.

Rappoccio also admitted that days after receiving the $30,000 bribe, he solicited and received airline tickets for two of his family members from Bebus.  Three months later, Rappoccio also received NFL tickets worth $1,328 from another co-conspirator.  At the time that he accepted these additional benefits, Rappoccio agreed to steer an additional $4 million contract to Bebus and his company.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from DCIS’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office and Army-CID’s Expeditionary Fraud Resident Agency’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Alison L. Anderson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Fahey of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa Seifan and Martin Coffey of the Eastern District of New York.

Home Health Agency Owner Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Role in Miami Health Care Fraud Scheme

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Patient Recruiter Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Participating In The Same Scheme

A South Florida man was sentenced to 10 years in prison today in connection with a long-running $6.2 million Medicare fraud scheme involving Professional Medical Home Health LLC (Professional Home Health), a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services, as well as similar schemes at two additional Miami home health care agencies.  A second defendant was also sentenced to two years in prison today for his role as a patient recruiter in the fraud scheme at Professional Home Health.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.  Chief U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida imposed the sentence.

Ernesto Fernandez, 48, of Miami, pleaded guilty on Nov. 26, 2014, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, Fernandez was also ordered to pay $2,163,057 in restitution and to forfeit $9,061,867, which represents the proceeds traceable to his criminal conduct at all three home health agencies.  Fernandez has been in custody since his bond was revoked on Jan. 30, 2015, for violating the condition of his bond prohibiting contact with victims or witnesses in the case except through counsel.

According to documents filed with his plea agreement, Fernandez was an owner and operator of Professional Home Heath.  He was also the owner and operator of two other South Florida home health agencies.  At each of these companies, Fernandez and his co-conspirators billed the Medicare program for expensive physical therapy and home health services that were not medically necessary or were not provided.  Fernandez admitted that he caused patient documentation to be falsified, and planned, organized and oversaw the submission of fraudulent claims to the Medicare program.

Fernandez also admitted to being a patient recruiter for all three home health agencies.  In that capacity, Fernandez recruited patients for the agencies in exchange for kickbacks, knowing that the agencies would bill the Medicare program on behalf of the recruited patients for expensive home health and therapy services that were not medically necessary or not provided.

Juan Valdes, 37, of Palm Springs, pleaded guilty on Nov. 10, 2014, to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and receive health care kickbacks.  In addition to the two-year prison sentence, Valdes was also ordered to pay 204,526 in restitution.

According to documents filed with his plea agreement, Valdes was a patient recruiter for Professional Home Health.  In that role, he solicited kickbacks and bribes from the owners and operators of Professional Home Health in exchange for providing beneficiaries to allow Professional Home Health to bill Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided.

Fernandez and Valdes are the seventh and eighth defendants to be sentenced in connection with the fraudulent schemes at Professional Home Health.  Dennis Hernandez and Jose Alvarez, both owners and operators of Professional Home Health, were each sentenced to 10 years in prison on Jan. 29, 2015.  Joel San Pedro, a manager and supervisor of Professional Home Health, was sentenced to 97 months in prison on Jan. 29, 2015.  Annarella Garcia, an owner of Professional Home Health, was sentenced to 70 months in prison on Aug. 27, 2014.  Annilet Dominguez, an administrator of Professional Home Health, was sentenced to 68 months in prison on Sept. 29, 2014.  Alina Hernandez, a patient recruiter for Professional Home Health, was sentenced to two years in prison on Jan. 29, 2015.

This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Anne P. McNamara of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion.  In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Mexican Businessman Arrested

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced today that Fernando Pascual-Jimenez, age 44, was arrested on January 30, 2015, on charges that he conspired to commit wire fraud in connection with Ex-Im Bank loans resulting in loan defaults and claims paid by ExIm Bank of approximately $5 million.

On January 30, 2015, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Las Vegas, Nevada, arrested Pascual as he arrived on an international flight from Mexico. Pascual was arrested based on an indictment and arrest warrant obtained by Special Agents from the Ex-Im Bank OIG charging him with violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (conspiracy to commit wire fraud).

According to the indictment, Pascual owned and operated CEMEC Commercial, S.A. de C.V. (CEMEC), a company located inQueretaro, Mexico. According to the allegations in the indictment, from in or around July 2005 through July 2010, Pascual conspired with others to obtain an Ex-Im Bank guaranteed loan for exporting U.S. goods overseas. The indictment alleges that Pascual and others conspired to create false documents and did not use the loan proceeds for the purchase and shipment of the goods guaranteed by Ex-Im Bank.

This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida. The case is being investigated by Ex-Im Bank OIG, Homeland Security Investigations – El Paso, TX; and the FBI – Washington, D.C.

An arrest based on an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing. Ex-Im Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank OIG is an independent office within Ex-Im Bank. The OIG receives and investigates complaints and information concerning violations of law, rules or regulations, fraud against Ex-Im Bank, mismanagement, waste of funds, and abuse of authority connected with Ex-Im Bank’s programs and operations. Additional information about the OIG can be found at www.exim.gov/oig. Complaints and reports of waste, fraud, and abuse related to Ex-Im Bank programs and operations can be reported to the OIG hotline at 888-OIG-EXIM (888-644-3946) or via email at [email protected].

SOURCE Office of Inspector General for the Export-Import Bank of the United States

3C’s: CCI fines Port Owner’s Association and Individuals for Price Fixing

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CCI fines Port Owner’s Association and Individuals for Price Fixing

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Today’s guest post is from Avinash Amarnath.

India Update 2015 Vol. 2

Trade associations continue to be the flavor of the day in the cartel space in India.

On 21 January 2015, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty on the Dumper Owner’s Association (DOA), a trade association of dumper and hywa [unloading] machinery providers for intra-port transportation of cargo at Paradip Port and its individual officers for controlling the supply of dumpers and hywas at Paradip Port and fixing supply prices. The trade association was fined 8% of its average turnover (for the last 3 years) while the individual officers were fined 5% of their average income (for the last 3 years).

The complaint was brought by Swastik Stevedores Private Limited (the Informant), a company engaged in the business of stevedoring and intra-port transportation of cargo alleging that the DOA, in connivance with the Paradip Port Trust (PPT), the government authority managing Paradip Port had been refusing to provide dumpers and hywas to it.

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MINEBEA CO. LTD. AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY AND PAY A $13.5 MILLION

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WASHINGTON — Minebea Co. Ltd., a small sized bearings manufacturer based in Nagano, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $13.5 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices for small sized ball bearings sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Cincinnati, Minebea conspired to fix the prices of small sized ball bearings in the United States and elsewhere.  In addition to the criminal fine, Minebea has agreed to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigation.  The plea agreement is subject to court approval.

According to the charge, Minebea and its co-conspirator discussed and agreed upon prices to be submitted to small sized ball bearings customers.  Minebea’s participation in the conspiracy lasted from at least as early as early-to-mid 2008 and continued until at least October 2011.

“Because of the unlawful price-fixing by the defendant and its co-conspirators, American businesses paid more for small-sized bearings than they otherwise would,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “Working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and our other law enforcement partners, the Antitrust Division will continue our efforts to ensure American businesses and consumers benefit from competitive markets.”

“Any agreement that restricts price competition violates the law,” said U.S. Attorney Carter Stewart of Southern District of Ohio.  “We will continue to work to protect consumers’ right to free and open competition.”

Bearings are used in industry in numerous products to reduce friction and help parts roll smoothly past one another; they “bear” the load.  Small sized ball bearings are those ball bearings whose outside diameter is 26 millimeters or less.

Minebea is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

The charge today is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the bearings industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office.  Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to the bearings industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, or call the FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office at 513-421-4310.

A Report Card: “Obama Administration Antitrust Policy:

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Brief Summary of “Obama Administration Antitrust Policy: A Report Card” Program

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On January 29, 2015 I attended a program hosted by the Heritage Foundation: Obama Administration Antitrust Policy: A Report Card. The program was free and held in the Allison Auditorium. The program had three panels that focused on 1) the FTC; 2) the DOJ, and 3) Antitrust Abroad.   The panels were outstanding and included speakers who were either current or former senior members of the FTC or the Antitrust Division.

The consensus of the speakers was that it is too early to give an overall Antitrust grade to the Obama administration. It can take years to conduct a proper retrospective of how decisions and priorities have played out. Overall, however, there were a number of “high marks” or “good job” given by each of the panels. The DOJ, however was given one failing grade for (my words) “Plays Well With Others.”  Typically when a new administration takes over, new management speaks well of their predecessors, even though they may have a different approach in some areas. This happened with the Bush to Obama transition at the FTC. It did not at the DOJ. Several panelists noted Obama administration DOJ officials were uncharacteristically critical of their immediate predecessors with remarks such as the “antitrust is open for business”[1] and comments made when, in May 2009, the new administration withdrew the September 2008 Section 2 report on monopolization.

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OCEAN SHIPPING EXECUTIVE PLEADS GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING ON

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Executive Agrees to Serve 18 Months in U.S. Prison

WASHINGTON — An executive of Japan-based Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line) pleaded guilty today and was sentenced to 18 months in a U.S. prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to fix prices, allocate customers and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for roll-on, roll-off cargo, such as cars and trucks, to and from the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to the one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, Hiroshige Tanioka, who was at various times an assistant manager, team leader and general manager in K-Line’s car carrier division, conspired to allocate customers and routes, rig bids and fix prices for the sale of international ocean shipments of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the United States and elsewhere, including the Port of Baltimore. Tanioka participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as April 1998 until at least April 2012.

Roll-on, roll-off cargo is non-containerized cargo that can be both rolled onto and off of an ocean-going vessel.  Examples of this cargo include new and used cars and trucks and construction and agricultural equipment.

“For more than a decade this conspiracy has raised the cost of importing cars and trucks into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s sentencing is a first step in our continuing efforts to ensure that the executives responsible for this misconduct are held accountable.”

Today’s sentence was the first to be imposed against an individual in the division’s ocean shipping investigation.  Previously, three corporations have agreed to plead guilty and to pay criminal fines totaling more than $136 million, including Tanioka’s employer K-Line, which was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $67.7 million in November 2014.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, which was accepted by the court today, Tanioka was sentenced to serve an 18-month prison term and pay a $20,000 criminal fine for his participation in the conspiracy.  In addition, Tanioka has agreed to assist the department in its ongoing investigation into the ocean shipping industry.

Tanioka was charged with a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for an individual.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Today’s plea agreement is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the international roll-on, roll-off ocean shipping industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, along with assistance from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Internal Affairs, Washington Field Office/Special Investigations Unit.  Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section at 202-307-6694, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office at 410-265-8080.

3C’s: LIBOR Guest Post from Richard Wolfram, Esq.

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I came across a very informative post by Richard Wolfram, Esq. about antitrust standing the LIBOR civil damages litigation.  I thought it would be of interest to Cartel Capers readers, in case you haven’t seen it elsewhere.  Mr. Wolfram kindly agreed to let me repost this.

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In re LIBOR: ‘More Light, Please!’—Questions and Observations As the Decision Dismissing Antitrust Claims for Lack of Antitrust Injury Now Faces Appellate Review
Posted: 28 Jan 2015 10:01 AM PST
by Richard Wolfram, Esq.

(An in-depth article on In re LIBOR and antitrust injury is available here under this title. The following is a preview of my article).

(N.B.: In a coincidence of timing, on Jan. 28, 2015, the date of this posting and publication of the linked article, Judge Lorna Schofield of the federal district court for the Southern District of New York, in a case alleging a conspiracy to manipulate the benchmark rates in the $5.3 trillion/day foreign exchange market, denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss and expressly rejected the test used by the court in In re LIBOR for determining antitrust injury, discussed below. In re Foreign Exchange Benchmark Rates Antitrust Litigation (S.D.N.Y. 1/28/15).)

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