Author Archives: Brad Geyer

Robert Connolly Presenting at SCCE Compliance and Ethics Conference today

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I’m pleased to announce my role as an Antitrust Ambassador for Emtrain — a leading provider of modern ethics & compliance training. I will be partnering with my friend Jared Bona, The Antitrust Attorney, to create an engaging antitrust compliance program for Emtrain.

Jarod and I are joining a distinguished team of experienced practitioners, including Mike Koehler (FCPA), Sally March (Corporate Compliance & Ethics), Chris MacDonald (Business Ethics), and Timothy Crudo (Governance and Insider Trading).

Here’s a recent thought leadership clip I created with the Emtrain team in San Francisco. Click here to watch the video and please let me know what you think.

Speaking to a camera was much different than speaking to a jury, and in some ways more difficult.  Fortunately, with the benefit of multiple takes, I was able to avoid reversible error.

Also, by happy coincidence, I am a speaking at the SCCE Compliance Conference in Chicago on September 15, 2015 on a panel titled “Global Antitrust Compliance and Risk—Creating an Effective Program.”

Emtrain has an information booth at the conference and I’ll be there hoping to talk some competition law (or football) to any willing partners. If you are at the conference, please stop by and say hello at booth #96.  I’m looking forward to meeting you.

The 2014 Compliance & Ethics Institute conference is at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, September 14-17, 2014.

Connolly Cartel Capers: China Fines Auto Parts Makers over $200 Million; Batman and Robin to Open Separate Probe

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Last week, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) imposed its first fines in the worldwide auto parts investigation. Eight Japanese auto parts companies and four Japanese bearing makers were fined a cumulative total of just over $200 million. In a related development, Batman and Robin announced that they have directed Alfred to determine whether the Batmobile contains any of the price-rigged parts.

OK, maybe that is a little far-fetched, but the point is that cartel enforcement has clearly become a worldwide event. With China pulling up a seat at the table, the risks have never been higher for would be cartelists. “This sends a warning to companies engaging in global price-fixing that they should beware of China,” said Chen Danzhou, a lecturer specializing in anti-monopoly law at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. “The government is getting more aggressive as it tries to make a structural adjustment to the market.” (Bloomberg)   China had also recently fined 6 companies from South Korea and Taiwan $56 million for participation in the LCD panel cartel.

The Antitrust Division coordinated the auto parts investigation with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission, the European Commission, Canadian Competition Bureau, Korean Fair Trade Commission, Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. What this usually means, at a minimum, is that the agencies coordinate timing of search warrants, dawn raids, inspections or wherever term is used to pay an unscheduled visit on businesses (and in some cases executives’ homes) to seize paper and electronic documents. The coordination minimizes the ability of subjects to clean house before the guests arrive. China did not participate it the auto parts coordination kickoff, but followed on as other nations brought cases.   But, China is thought to have cooperated with the DOJ, European Union Japanese, Korean and Taiwan Fair Trade Commission, (JFTC, KFTC, TFTC, respectively) in launching the recent investigation of the global capacitors industry.

Click here, for the rest of the story

Owner of Home Health Care Company Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison for Role in $6 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

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A co-owner of Professional Medical Home Health LLC was sentenced today to serve 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $6.2 million in restitution for her participation in a health care fraud scheme involving the now defunct home health care company .
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 Acting Special Agent in Charge Reginald France of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami Office made the announcement.    U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno of the Southern District of Florida imposed the sentence.
According to court documents, Annarella Garcia, 44, of Hialeah, Florida, was a co-owner of Professional Medical Home Health, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.    Between December 2008 and February 2014, Garcia and others engaged in a scheme to bill the Medicare Program for expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or were not provided.    During that time, Professional Medical Home Health was paid approximately $6.25 million by Medicare for the fraudulent claims.
Specifically, Garcia and her co-conspirators paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters in return for their providing patients to Professional Medical Home Health for home health and therapy services that were not medically necessary or were not provided.    In furtherance of the scheme, Garcia and her co-conspirators falsified patient documentation to make it appear that beneficiaries qualified for and received home health care services, when, in fact, many of the beneficiaries did not actually qualify for such services and did not receive such services.
Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on June 25, 2014.
The 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 Attorneys A. Brendan Stewart and 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 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 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.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .

 

Louisiana Psychiatrist Sentenced to Serve More Than Seven Years in Prison for His Role in $258 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

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A Louisiana psychiatrist was sentenced in federal court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, today to serve 86 months in prison for his role in a $258.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving partial hospitalization psychiatric services.    He was further ordered to pay $43.5 million in restitution and to forfeit all proceeds from the fraudulent scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney J. Walter Green of the Middle District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Agent in Charge Michael Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Division and Louisiana State Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell made the announcement.    Chief U.S. District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson of the Middle District of Louisiana imposed the sentence.
According to documents filed in the case, Zahid Imran, M.D., 56, of Baton Rouge, served as the medical director of Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Baton Rouge, and co-owned Serenity Center of Baton Rouge and Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Texas.    As part of the scheme, Imran admitted mentally ill patients to the facilities, some of whom were inappropriate for partial hospitalization, and then re-certified the patients’ appropriateness for the program in an effort to continue to bill Medicare for services.   To support the fraudulent Medicare billing, Imran and others falsified patient treatment records to reflect services on dates when no such services were provided.    Imran pleaded guilty on May 13, 2014, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
Law enforcement’s 2011 investigation into the three community mental health centers has resulted in 17 convictions of individuals employed by the facilities, including therapists, marketers, administrators, owners and the medical director.    The companies billed Medicare for partial hospitalization program services for the mentally ill that were unnecessary or never provided over a period of approximately seven years.    The companies, collectively, submitted more than $258 million in claims to Medicare during this period.   Medicare paid approximately $43.5 million on those claims.
The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG, the FBI and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, 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 Middle District of Louisiana.    The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Abigail Taylor and Dustin M. Davis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shubhra Shivpuri of the Middle District of Louisiana.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 1,900 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 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.

NGK SPARK PLUG CO. LTD. AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING AND

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WASHINGTON — NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $52.1 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to the one–count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, NGK Spark Plug engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler AG, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., among others, in the United States and elsewhere. In addition to the criminal fine, NGK Spark Plug has agreed to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement will be subject to court approval.

“Today’s guilty plea is just another example of the commitment of the Antitrust Division to preserving fair and legal competitive practices,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect U.S. consumers and businesses.”

According to the charge, NGK Spark Plug and its co–conspirators carried out the conspiracy through meetings and conversations in which they discussed and agreed upon bids and price quotations on bids to be submitted to certain automobile manufacturers and to allocate the supply of the products to those manufacturers. NGK Spark Plug sold spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors at non–competitive prices to auto makers in the United States and elsewhere in furtherance of the agreement. NGK Spark Plug’s involvement in the conspiracy lasted from at least as early as January 2000 until on or about July 2011.

NGK Spark Plug manufactures and sells spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors and air fuel ratio sensors. A spark plug is an engine component for delivering high electric voltage from the ignition system to the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. Oxygen sensors are located in the exhaust system and measure the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. Air fuel ratio sensors are “wideband” oxygen sensors that enable more precise control of the air/fuel ratio injected into the engine.

The charge against NGK Spark Plug is the latest in the department’s on-going investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry. These are the first charges filed relating to spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors and air fuel ratio sensors sold to automobile manufacturers.

Including NGK Spark Plug, 28 companies and 26 executives have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty in the division’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry and have agreed to pay a total of $2.4 billion in criminal fines.

NGK Spark Plug is charged with price fixing and bid rigging 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.

Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Today’s charge was brought by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section and the FBI’s Detroit Field Office with the assistance of the FBI Headquarters’ International Corruption Unit. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Detroit Field Office at 313-965-2323.

Former Rabobank LIBOR Submitter Pleads Guilty for Scheme to Manipulate Yen Libor

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A former Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank) Japanese Yen London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) submitter pleaded guilty today for his role in a conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud by manipulating Rabobank’s Yen LIBOR submissions to benefit trading positions.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Timothy A. Gallagher of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
Paul Robson, a citizen of the United Kingdom, appeared before United States District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in the Southern District of New York and pleaded guilty to count one of a 15-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District on April 28, 2014.    Sentencing is scheduled for June 9, 2017.
“ Paul Robson is the second employee at Rabobank, one of the world’s largest banks, to plead guilty to participating in a global fraud scheme,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “The scope of the fraud was massive, but the scheme was simple.  By illegally influencing the LIBOR rates, Robson and his coconspirators rigged the markets to ensure that their trades made money.  Robson’s conviction demonstrates the Department of Justice’s continued resolve to hold individuals and institutions accountable for their involvement in fraud in the financial markets.”
“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates our continuing resolve to prosecute those who fraudulently manipulated the LIBOR rate for their own personal benefit and, in doing so, undermined free and fair markets,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Snyder.
“Fraudulently manipulating the LIBOR has far reaching effects on international financial markets and such criminal activity will not be tolerated,” said Acting Assistant Director in Charge Gallagher.    “The Washington Field Office has committed significant time and resources including the expertise of Special Agents, forensic accountants and analysts to investigate this case along with our Department of Justice colleagues.    While the crimes committed are complex, their expertise demonstrates our ability to bring justice to those that choose to commit these crimes.”
Robson, along with former Rabobank Yen LIBOR derivatives traders Paul Thompson, of Australia, and Tetsuya Motomura, of Japan, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud as well as substantive counts of wire fraud.    The indictment also alleges that the conspiracy involved numerous additional, unnamed individuals and entities.    Among those individuals and entities are:

Takayuki Yagami (described in the indictment as Trader-R), a Japanese national and former Rabobank trader who pleaded guilty on June 10, 2014, in the Southern District of New York to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud for his involvement in the conspiracy alleged in the indictment; and

Lloyds Banking Group plc (LBG), a U.K.-based bank that, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on July 28, 2014, admitted wrongdoing in connection with the alleged conspiracy’s overt acts, and agreed to pay an $86 million penalty.

According to court documents, LIBOR is an average interest rate, calculated based on submissions from leading banks around the world, reflecting the rates those banks believe they would be charged if borrowing from other banks.    LIBOR serves as the primary benchmark for short-term interest rates globally and is used as a reference rate for many interest rate contracts, mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other consumer lending products.    The Bank of International Settlements estimated that as of the second half of 2009, outstanding interest rate contracts were valued at approximately $450 trillion.
At the time relevant to the charges, LIBOR was published by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), a trade association based in London.    LIBOR was calculated for 10 currencies at 15 borrowing periods, known as maturities, ranging from overnight to one year.    The published LIBOR “fix” for Yen LIBOR at a specific maturity is the result of a calculation based upon submissions from a panel of 16 banks, including Rabobank.
Rabobank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice on Oct. 29, 2013, and agreed to pay a $325 million penalty to resolve violations arising from Rabobank’s LIBOR submissions.
According to court documents, Robson worked as a senior trader at Rabobank’s Money Markets and Short Term Forwards desk in London and also served as Rabobank’s primary submitter of Yen LIBOR to the BBA; Thompson was Rabobank’s head of Money Market and Derivatives Trading Northeast Asia and worked in Singapore; Motomura was a senior trader at Rabobank’s Tokyo desk who supervised money market and derivative traders; and Yagami worked as a senior trader at Rabobank’s Money Market/FX Forwards desks in Tokyo and elsewhere in Asia.
Robson’s main role in the conspiracy was to submit Yen LIBOR rates at the requests of traders, including Thompson, Motomura and Yagami, who entered into derivatives contracts containing Yen LIBOR as a price component .    T he profit and loss that flowed from those contracts was directly affected by the relevant Yen LIBOR on certain dates.    If the relevant Yen LIBOR moved in the direction favorable to the defendants’ positions, Rabobank and the defendants benefitted at the expense of the counterparties.    When LIBOR moved in the opposite direction, the defendants and Rabobank stood to lose money to their counterparties.
As alleged in court filings, from about May 2006 to at least January 2011, the four defendants, a Yen LIBOR submitter at LBG, and others agreed to make false and fraudulent Yen LIBOR submissions for the benefit of selected trading positions.    According to the allegations, sometimes Robson submitted rates at a specific level requested by a co-defendant or other traders, and at other times Robson made a higher or lower Yen LIBOR submission consistent with the direction requested by a co-defendant or other traders.
For example, according to court filings, on Sept. 21, 2007, Yagami asked Robson by email, “where do you think today’s libors are?    If you can I would like 1mth higher today.” Robson responded, “bookies reckon .85,” to which Yagami replied, “I have some fixings in 1mth so would appreciate if you can put it higher mate.” Robson answered, “no prob mate let me know your level.” After Yagami asked for “0.90% for 1mth,” Robson confirmed, “sure no prob[ ] I’ll probably get a few phone calls but no worries mate… there’s bigger crooks in the market than us guys!”
Robson admitted that he accommodated the requests of his co-defendants and other traders.    For example, on Sept. 21, 2007, after Robson allegedly received a request from Yagami for a high one-month Yen LIBOR, Rabobank submitted a one-month Yen LIBOR rate of 0.90, which was seven basis points higher than the previous day and five basis points above where Robson said that “bookies” predicted it, and which moved Rabobank’s submission from the middle to the highest of the panel.
According to court documents, the defendants were also aware that they were making false or fraudulent Yen LIBOR submissions.    For example, on May 10, 2006, Robson admitted in an email to Yagami that “it must be pretty embarrasing to set such a low libor.   I was very embarrased to set my 6 mth – but wanted to help thomo [Thompson].   Tomorrow it will be more like 33 from me.” At times, Robson referred to the submissions that he submitted on behalf of his co-defendants as “ridiculously high” and “obscenely high,” and acknowledged that his submissions would be so out of line with the other Yen LIBOR panel banks that he might receive a phone call about them from the BBA or Thomson Reuters.
On numerous occasions, Robson also passed along such requests to the LBG submitter, who altered LBG’s Yen LIBOR submission accordingly if doing so did not adversely affect selected trading positions at LBG.    Likewise, the LBG setter sent requests to Robson and he generally altered Rabobank’s Yen LIBOR to satisfy the requests.    For example, on July 28, 2006, Robson wrote to the LBG submitter: “morning skipper…..will be setting an obscenely high 1m again today…poss 38 just fyi.” The LBG submitter responded: “(K)…oh dear..my poor customers….hehehe!! manual input libors again today then!!!!” Both banks’ submissions on July 28 moved up one basis point, from 0.37 to 0.38.    As the LBG submitter explained, according to court documents filed in connection with Rabobank’s deferred prosecution agreement, to other LBG submitters, “We usually try and help each other out…but only if it suits.”
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by special agents, forensic accountants, and intelligence analysts in the FBI’s Washington Field Office.    The prosecution is being handled by Senior Litigation Counsel Carol L. Sipperly and Trial Attorney Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Trial Attorney Michael T. Koenig of the Antitrust Division.    The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided assistance in this matter.
The Justice Department expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by various enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad.    The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement referred this matter to the department and, along with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, has played a major role in the LIBOR investigation.    The Securities and Exchange Commission also has played a significant role in the LIBOR series of investigations, and the department expresses its appreciation to the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office for its assistance and ongoing cooperation.      The department has worked closely with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the Dutch Central Bank in the investigation of Rabobank.    Various agencies and enforcement authorities from other nations are also participating in different aspects of the broader investigation relating to LIBOR and other benchmark rates, and the department is grateful for their cooperation and assistance.
This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.   For more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.com.

 

Co-Founder of Government Contracting Company Pleads Guilty to Bribery

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Timothy S. Miller, 58, a co-founder of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, pleaded guilty today to bribing two public officials working for the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after Miller’s guilty plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard of the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in February 2009, Miller, along with his business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, co-founded a government contracting company that provided telecommunications support to the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy.

At the plea hearing, Miller admitted that he bribed two officials at the Military Sealift Command for favorable official acts.    In particular, he admitted that on May 12, 2009, he gave $30,000 in cash to Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino Sr., a government contractor who worked with Toy at the Military Sealift Command Headquarters.    He also admitted that just two days after giving Toy and Miserendino the $30,000, he agreed that Hardman should give Toy and Miserendino an additional $20,000.

According to Miller’s statement of facts, Toy exercised substantial influence over the Military Sealift Command contracting process by creating and executing multi-million dollar budgets, obtaining funding for projects, developing and having access to sensitive information, and requesting that subcontract work be awarded to particular companies.   As a result of the $50,000 payment, Miserendino and Toy performed various official acts to assist Miller’s company.    Indeed, in 2009, Miller’s company received approximately $2.5 million in business from the Military Sealift Command.

As a condition of his plea agreement, Miller has agreed to forfeit $167,000.    Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014.

Earlier this year, five other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme.    On February 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to serve 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000.    On February 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 9, 2014, to serve 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000.    On February 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on August 5, 2014, to serve 36 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000.    On March 5, 2014, Roderic J. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on June 23, 2014, to serve 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000.    On April 4, 2014, Adam C. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to serve 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000.

The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS and DCIS.    The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Connolly’s Cartel Capers: The Unusual Hi-Tech Hiring Collusion Case

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The Unusual Hi-Tech Hiring Collusion Case: Judge Rejects Proposed Settlement; DOJ Brought Civil “Per Se” Cases

 by Robert Connolly

Last Friday Judge Lucy H. Koh issued an unusual ruling in a somewhat unusual case.  The ruling was unusual in that the court rejected a proposed settlement in the hi-tech wage collusion class action case.  Judge Koh denied a request to preliminarily approve a $324.5 million deal to end the antitrust class action against Google Inc., Apple Inc., Intel Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc.  The suit alleged the companies agreed to not compete for each others’ high-tech employees such as software engineers and computer scientists. The court found the proposed settlement too low and indicated it should be at least $55 million more.  The civil case followed a similar suit by the Antitrust Division charging a per se violation for agreeing not to compete, but the Division’s case was brought as a civil action.

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Click here for the rest of the story.

GeyerGorey Alumnus and “Friend of the Firm” Allen Grunes, now founding partner of innovative KonkurrenzGroup.Com, handicaps Sprint T-Mobile Bid at Politico.

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GeyerGorey Alumni and “Friend of the Firm” Allen Grunes, now founding partner of innovative KonkurrenzGroup.Com, handicaps Sprint T-Mobile Bid at Politico:

Politico
TOP TALKER: SPRINT’S T-MOBILE BID — OVER AND OUT — ….

‘If true, it shows that reality has finally sunk in,’ said Allen Grunes, a former Justice Department antitrust attorney and founder of the Konkurrenz Group. ‘All the signs suggested a Sprint/T-Mobile deal would run into major opposition, and I can’t imagine parties making a deal when they know that a lawsuit is all but inevitable.'” 

Contact KonkurrenzGroup here.

Connolly’s Cartel Capers: A Look at Other Significant Submissions to the Sentencing Commission on Possible Reforms to the Antitrust Guidelines (2R1.1)

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A Look at Other Significant Submissions to the Sentencing Commission on Possible Reforms to the Antitrust Guidelines (2R1.1)

 by Robert Connolly

I’ve posted recently on my concerns with the Antitrust Sentencing Guidelines (2R1.1) as they relate to individual defendants (here).  Other submissions have been made to the Commission by people/institutions with great insight and influence in the cartel arena.  I’ve summarized a few of these below.

Click Here For the “Rest of the Story” (hat tip to Paul Harvey)