The Supreme Court has now denied cert in three different challenges to the per se rule in criminal antitrust cases, the latest being the denial of the cross-cert petition by Brent Brewbaker. It is unlikely that a Court of Appeals will overturn the per se rule given the extensive precedent—although it is not impossible.
Latest from Cartel Capers
Compliments to the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (and a trip down memory lane)
The Antitrust Division of the USDOJ recently celebrated the Fifth Anniversary of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force. The event, held at the Great Hall of the Department of Justice, featured speeches by Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kantor and Strike Force Director Dan Glad (here). “Since its inception
Supreme Court Set To Make Cert Decision On Per Se Battle
On February 1, 2022, Brent Brewbaker, a former executive of Contech Engineered Solutions LLC was convicted by a jury for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud schemes targeting the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT). The conviction seemed an unremarkable event at the time. “Evidence showed that Brewbaker instructed a co-conspirator to submit non-competitive
Brewbaker Strikes Back: The DOJ’s Per Se “Death Star” Attacked
No jail sentences were imposed on individual defendants convicted in the 1940 Supreme Court case of United States v. Socony Vacuum Oil Co. The individuals were each fined $1,000. In 2014, Romano Pisciotti, an Italian citizen, was indicted under seal for violating Section One of the Sherman Act, seized by Interpol while changing
DOJ Filed Cert Petition in United States v. Brewbaker
The Department of Justice has filed a cert petition (here) asking the Supreme Court to reverse a Fourth Circuit decision which held that a bid rigging scheme was not a per se violation where the competing bidders also had a vertical relationship. In United States v. Brewbaker, 87
A Modest Proposal—Antitrust Division Special Counsel for Whistleblower
There has been a series of announcements by the Department of Justice of pilot programs designed to lure “insiders” to expose crimes, particularly financial crimes. The first announcement was a new Whistleblower Pilot Program to financially reward whistleblowers in certain circumstances. See DOJ Announces New Whistleblower Pilot Program, Cartel Capers, March 14, 2024. More
DOJ Announces New Whistleblower Incentive Pilot Program—Here’s Hoping the Antitrust Division Gets In On The Action
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco gave the keynote speech at the recent ABA Annual White Collar Institute, and announced a new DOJ Program to incentivize individuals with knowledge of corporate financial crimes to come forward. Video here; Print copy here. Currently, the DOJ is authorized to pay awards for information or assistance
All I Want for Christmas….
All I want for Christmas is a criminal antitrust whistleblower statute. The SEC, CFTC and other enforcement agencies charged with uncovering and prosecuting financial fraud have had another strong year thanks to their whistleblower programs. These agencies sing the praises of their reliance on whistleblowers to uncover illegal schemes. It is not difficult to understand
You Are A Competitor If You Say So–My Disagreement with Fourth Circuit’s Brewbaker Opinion
I have not written a blog post in some time. Been busy, or perhaps a bit lazy, but the Fourth Circuit opinion in United States v. Brewbaker, __ F. 4th __(4th Cir. 12/1/2023), 2023 Westlaw 8286490 caught my attention. The decision represents a surprising departure from black letter law that collusion between competing bidders is
A Practical Look at Why A Criminal Antitrust Whistleblower Statute is Needed
Below is an updated version of a previous blog post I ran about the need for a criminal antitrust whistleblower statute. Revised with new typos:
I have been advocating for some time that cartel whistleblower legislation be passed. Whistleblower legislation has been phenomenally successful for the SEC and other agencies and there is