On February 1, 2022, a federal jury found a former engineering firm executive guilty of conspiring to rig bids and defraud the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) of hundreds of public works contracts worth more than $23 million. From at least 2009 through fall 2018, Brent Brewbaker was responsible for crafting and submitting bids to NCDOT on behalf of Contech Engineered Solutions LLC, an engineering firm that makes products used in bridge construction, water drainage and other public works projects.
Read more here to learn how companies can minimize the risk that they are investigated by the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF).
Two real estate investors pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia. The guilty pleas, entered on Monday, January 4, are the 11th and 12th defendants charged in the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division in its ongoing investigations into a bid rigging and mail fraud conspiracy that took place from 2009 to 2011.
The conspirators agreed not to bid against each other for specific public real estate foreclosure auctions in several Georgia counties. By declining to bid against each other, the bidders could acquire the properties at sub-competitive prices. If the public auctions were competitive and free from bid rigging, however, the same money taken by the conspiracy would have been used to pay off the mortgage, pay the debt holders of, and/or pay the owners of the properties being foreclosed upon. This case serves as a reminder that a wide variety of behaviors, including agreeing to refrain from bidding against other bidders, may be considered bid rigging. In fact, courts have held that this and other types of bid rigging—such as rotating bids, or comparing bids before submission—can be per se illegal under the antitrust laws.
This investigation also highlights the government’s ongoing commitment to root out financial crimes. In particular, the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established by President Barack Obama in 2009, has used the “broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud” and financial crimes. As part of this effort, the DOJ has frequently targeted conspiracies to rig bids. In fact, the agency has uncovered bid rigging in industries of all sizes, from regional conspiracies to large, nationwide conspiracies resulting in billions of dollars in fines.
A thirty-seventh individual pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California. The guilty plea, entered on Monday, November 4, is yet another victory for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division in its ongoing investigations into a bid rigging and mail fraud conspiracy that took place from 2007 to 2011.
According to the DOJ, the conspirators arranged winning bidders for specific public real estate foreclosure auctions in several California counties. After acquiring the properties at sub-competitive prices, the conspirators then conducted a second, private auction only open to members of the bid rigging ring. The difference in the private auction price and public auction price could then be used for payoffs to the conspiracy members. Had the public auctions been competitive and free from bid rigging, however, that same money taken by the conspiracy would have been used to pay off the mortgage, the debt holders of, and sometimes even the owners of the properties being foreclosed.
This investigation highlights the government’s increased focus on rooting out financial crimes as part of its larger economic recovery plan. In particular, the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, established by President Obama in 2009, has used the “broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud” in financial markets and those hit hardest by the recession.
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