“T-Mobile made good on its promise as an innovator. That’s why Allen Grunes, an antitrust lawyer for Geyer Gorey in Washington, D.C., said the odds are stacked against a merger this time as well.
‘That tells the DOJ they were right,’ Grunes said. ‘The decision to block was the correct decision, so why would you let another telecom take them over?'”
Category Archives: Antitrust Division
Two Northern California Real Estate Investors Charged with Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions Investigation Has Yielded 46 Plea Agreements to Date
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Two Northern California Real Estate Investors Charged with Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions Investigation Has Yielded 46 Plea Agreements to Date
Two Northern California real estate investors pleaded guilty for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.
Felony charges were filed on June 30, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, against Grant Alvernaz, of Pleasant Hill, Calif., and Douglas Moore, of Walnut Creek, Calif. Alvernaz pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 7, 2011. Moore pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 24, 2011. The charges and the guilty pleas were unsealed yesterday. Including Alvernaz and Moore, a total of 46 individuals have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.
According to court documents, Alvernaz and Moore conspired with others not to bid against one another, and instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. Alvernaz and Moore were also charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud by fraudulently acquiring title to selected Contra Costa and Alameda County properties sold at public auctions and making and receiving payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators that would have gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy. The department said that the selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in the second, private auctions. The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held. Alvernaz and Moore pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracies in Contra Costa County beginning as early as February 2009 and continuing until in or about December 2010 and in Alameda County from as early as March 2009 and continuing until about November 2010.
“The integrity of real estate foreclosure markets depends on open and honest competition, which the perpetrators of these collusive schemes undermined,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to pursue those who illegally enrich themselves at the expense of lenders and financially distressed homeowners.”
The department stated that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition in order to obtain selected real estate offered at Contra Costa and Alameda County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner. According to court documents, these conspirators paid and received money that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties and, in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.
“The unsealed court documents narrate the criminal actions taken as part of this real estate bid-rigging conspiracy in northern California,” said David J. Johnson, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Office. “The public should consider this an example of how a competitive marketplace can be taken advantage of by those who are shortsighted by greed.”
A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for the Sherman Act charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than $1 million. A count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government can also seek to forfeit the proceeds earned from participating in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The charges are the latest filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-436-6660, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.
Today’s cases were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants.
Former Owner of Florida Airline Fuel Supply Company Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud Illinois-Based Ryan International Airlines
A former owner and operator of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company pleaded guilty today to participating in a kickback scheme to defraud Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines, a charter airline company located in Rockford, Ill., the Department of Justice announced.
Sean E. Wagner, the former owner and operator of Aviation Fuel International Inc. (AFI), pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. On Aug. 13, 2013, a grand jury returned an indictment against Wagner and AFI, charging them for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud Ryan International Airlines. According to the indictment, Wagner and AFI made kickback payments to Wayne Kepple, a former vice president of ground operations for Ryan, in exchange for awarding business to AFI. According to court documents, from at least as early as December 2005 through at least August 2009, Wagner and others at AFI made kickback payments to Kepple totaling more than $200,000 in the form of checks, wire transfers, cash and gift cards. The charges against AFI were dismissed on Feb. 21, 2014.
Ryan provided air passenger and cargo services for corporations, private individuals and the U.S. government – including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“These types of kickback schemes subvert the competitive process and increase costs to American consumers,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will vigorously prosecute individuals who defraud American taxpayers and businesses.”
Wagner pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud. The count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals. 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 amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, four other individuals have pleaded guilty and have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 87 months in prison and to pay more than $580,000 in restitution.
The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office, headed by Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Anyone with information concerning anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
SOUTH AMERICAN COMPANY AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING ON OCEAN SHIPPING SERVICES FOR CARS AND TRUCKS
WASHINGTON — Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores S.A. (CSAV), a Chilean corporation, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay an $8.9 million criminal fine for its 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 a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, CSAV engaged in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by allocating customers and routes, rigging bids and fixing prices for the sale of international ocean shipping services of roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the United States and elsewhere, including the Port of Baltimore. CSAV participated in the conspiracy from at least January 2000 to September 2012. CSAV has also agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
Roll-on, roll-off cargo is non-containerized cargo that can be both rolled onto and rolled off of an ocean-going vessel. Examples of this cargo include new and used cars and trucks, as well as construction, mining and agricultural equipment.
“Today’s charges are the first to be filed in the Antitrust Division’s investigation into bid rigging and price fixing of ocean shipping services,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Because of the growth in the automobile ocean shipping industry over the past 40 years, the conspiracy substantially affected interstate and foreign commerce. Prosecuting international price-fixing conspiracies remains a top priority for the division.”
According to the charge, CSAV and its co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by, among other things, agreeing – during meetings and communications – on prices, allocating customers, agreeing to refrain from bidding against one another and exchanging customer pricing information. The department said the companies then charged fees in accordance with those agreements for international ocean shipping services for certain roll-on, roll-off cargo to and from the United States and elsewhere at collusive and non-competitive prices.
CSAV 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.
Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the international ocean shipping industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement 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 National Criminal Enforcement 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.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE INVESTOR AGREES TO PLEAD GUILTY TO BID RIGGING AND FRAUD AT PUBLIC FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS
WASHINGTON — A Northern California real estate investor has agreed to plead guilty for his role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced.
Felony charges were filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland against Charles Gonzales, of Alamo, Calif. Including Gonzales, a total of 44 individuals have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California.
According to court documents, beginning as early as April 2009 until about October 2010, Gonzales conspired with others not to bid against one another, and instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Alameda County, Calif. Gonzales was also charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud by fraudulently acquiring title to selected Alameda County properties sold at public auctions and making and receiving payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators that would have gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy. The department said that the selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in the second, private auctions. The private auctions often took place at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held.
“The Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation has resulted in charges against 44 individuals for their roles in schemes that defraud distressed homeowners and lenders,” said, Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to vigorously protect competition at the local level.”
The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at Alameda County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at the auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner. According to court documents, the conspirators paid and received money that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties, and, in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.
“The symbolism of holding illegitimate and fraudulent private auctions near a courthouse is deplorable,” said David J. Johnson, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Office. “The justice system will continue to prevail in this ongoing investigation pursuing bid rigging and fraud at public foreclosure auctions.”
A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for the Sherman Act charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim if either amount is greater than $1 million. A count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government can also seek to forfeit the proceeds earned from participating in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Today’s charges are the latest filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, Calif. These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300, or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.
Today’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Former Employee of Florida Airline Fuel Supply Company Pleads Guilty to Obstructing Federal Investigation
A former employee of a Florida-based airline fuel supply service company pleaded guilty today to obstructing an investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry, the Department of Justice announced.
Craig Perez, a former employee of Aviation Fuel International Inc. (AFI), pleaded guilty to a felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City. The charge against Perez stems from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS)’s investigation into kickback payments made by AFI and its employees to Wayne Kepple, the former vice president of ground operations for Ryan International Airlines.
Ryan provided air passenger and cargo services for corporations, private individuals and the U.S. government, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service.
According to court documents, Perez worked for AFI from June 2007 until March 2008 and was vice president of services. During that time, Kepple received kickback payments from AFI on aviation fuel, services and equipment sold by AFI to Ryan. In November 2011, a federal agent with DCIS contacted Perez to interview him in relation to its investigation of AFI. After speaking with the federal agent, and with full knowledge of the purpose of the interview, Perez knowingly destroyed relevant files from his laptop computer relating to his employment at AFI with the intent to impede, obstruct and influence the investigation of AFI and his involvement in that conduct.
“The Antitrust Division will hold accountable those who attempt to conceal their illegal actions and obstruct a government investigation ,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “Destroying evidence in an attempt to undermine a federal investigation is a crime the division takes very seriously.”
Perez is charged with obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals. He has agreed to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.
Today’s plea is the fifth to arise out of the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry. The other four individuals have been ordered to serve sentences ranging from 16 to 87 months in prison and to pay more than $580,000 in restitution. A sixth individual, Sean Wagner, the owner and operator of AFI, and AFI itself were indicted on Aug. 13, 2013.
The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service, headed by Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin. Anyone with information concerning anticompetitive conduct in the airline charter services industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Georgia Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud at Public Real Estate Foreclosure Auctions
A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty today for her role in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, the Department of Justice announced.
Felony charges were filed on Dec. 19, 2013, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, against Amy James. According to court documents, from as early as Dec. 6, 2005, until at least Jan. 23, 2009, James conspired with others not to bid against one another, but instead to designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in DeKalb County, Ga. James was also charged with a conspiracy to commit mail fraud by fraudulently acquiring title to selected DeKalb County properties sold at public auctions and making and receiving payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators that would have gone to mortgage holders and others by holding second, private auctions open only to members of the conspiracy. The department said that the selected properties were then awarded to the conspirators who submitted the highest bids in the second, private auctions.
“Today’s guilty plea is the third in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into anticompetitive behavior at real estate foreclosure auctions in the state of Georgia,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division remains committed to holding accountable individuals who conspire to defraud distressed homeowners and lenders in Georgia and elsewhere.”
The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain real estate offered at DeKalb County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner. According to court documents, the conspirators paid and received money that otherwise would have gone to pay off the mortgage and other holders of debt secured by the properties, and, in some cases, the defaulting homeowner.
“Today’s guilty plea reflects the FBI’s commitment toward enforcement of federal antitrust laws that are designed to provide a level playing field among businesses and individuals as they engage in competition for commerce,” said Ricky Maxwell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners regarding these enforcement matters and asks that the public contact their nearest FBI field office regarding such unfair and illegal business practices.”
A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for a Sherman Act charge may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for individuals. The fine may be increased to twice the gross gain the conspirators derived from the crime or twice the gross loss caused to the victims of the crime.
The investigation is being conducted by Antitrust Division attorneys in Atlanta and the FBI’s Atlanta Division, with the assistance of the Atlanta Field Office of the Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia should contact Antitrust Division prosecutors in Atlanta at 404-331-7113, call the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Today’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Former Denso Corp. Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Obstructing Automotive Parts Investigation
A former executive of Japan-based Denso Corp. has agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice charges in connection with the Antitrust Division’s investigation into a conspiracy to fix the prices of heater control panels installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today. The executive has also agreed to serve one year and one day in a U.S. prison.
A one-count felony charge was filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit against Kazuaki Fujitani, a former director of Denso Corp. in Japan. According to the charge, Fujitani, who was general manager of the Toyota Sales Division at the time of the offense, deleted numerous e-mails and electronic documents in February and March 2010 upon learning that the FBI had executed a search warrant on Denso’s U.S. subsidiary. The deleted documents contained communications between Denso and one or more of its competitors regarding requests for price quotation made by Toyota for heater control panels for the Toyota Avalon. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
“Today’s charge demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s commitment to protecting the integrity of grand jury investigations,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The division will vigorously prosecute individuals who destroy evidence in an attempt to conceal their participation in illegal conspiracies.”
In March 2012, Denso pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $78 million criminal fine for its role in conspiracies to fix the prices of heater control panels and electronic control units.
Including Fujitani, 29 individuals have been charged in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Additionally, 26 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty and have agreed to pay a total of over $2.25 billion in fines.
Fujitani is charged with obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a criminal fine of $250,000 for individuals.
Today’s charge arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by each of the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Today’s charge was brought by the National Criminal Enforcement Section and the San Francisco Office of the Antitrust Division, with the assistance of the Detroit Field Office of the FBI. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the automotive parts 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 Detroit Field Office of the FBI at 313-965-2323.
Comcast Deal: If Netflix Is Fine, Regulators Might Be Too
Comcast Deal: If Netflix Is Fine, Regulators Might Be Too
“This deal can be enjoined if it gives too much clout to Comcast-Time Warner as a purchasing entity even though consumers may be unaffected,” Stucke said.
Maurice Stucke comments on Comcast deal to CNNMoney
Comcast deal to face antitrust hurdles
“”The FCC is going to be the wild card,” said Maurice Stucke, antitrust law professor at the University of Tennessee and an attorney at law firm GeyerGorey. “This is the opportunity for the new chief to take a stance and become a vocal regulator.””