Legal Technology News

Price-Fixing Investigation Shocks Automotive Industry
Download PDF
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

The largest criminal antitrust investigation in the history of the Justice Department involves price-fixing and bid-rigging in the auto parts industry, according to the Associated Press.

Raids in the Detroit area made the investigation public four years ago and led to criminal charges against dozens of individuals and companies. The investigation has stretched beyond the United States to multiple continents.

  
What
Where


“It’s a very, very safe assumption that U.S. consumers paid more, and sometimes significantly more, for their automobiles as a result of this conspiracy,” Brent Snyder, a deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division, said in an interview.

The Justice Department said that 34 individuals have been charged and 27 companies have either agreed to plead guilty or have done so already. All told, the parties involved have agreed to pay $2.3 billion in fines. In September, Attorney General Eric Holder promised that investigators “would check under every hood and kick every tire.”

On Thursday, an exec from a company in Japan was charged with conspiring to fix prices of heater control panels that are sold to Toyota. The exec was also charged with persuading workers to destroy any evidence.

Get JD Journal in Your Mail

Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!




“The firms will just make more money if they’re able to reach and stick to an agreement to collectively charge higher prices so that customers can’t get them to bid against each other,” said Spencer Weber Waller, director of the Institute for Antitrust Consumer Studies at the Loyola University Chicago law school. “The problem is, of course, it’s a felony in the United States.”

The offices of Denso Corp, Yazaki North America and Tokai Rika were raided in Detroit, which made the investigation public. All three have pleaded guilty in bid-rigging and price-fixing scams. Since those initial raids, the investigation has increased to include $5 billion of auto parts. Those parts include steering wheels, ignition coils, seat belts, rubber parts for vibration and windshield wipers.



Looking for antitrust attorney jobs? Click here.



 

RELEVANT JOBS

Associate Attorney

USA-PA-Exton

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY McKenna Snyder LLC, a law firm in Exton, PA has an immediate opening for an ex...

Apply now

Attorney

USA-MI-Sturgis

Qualifications: HaasCaywood is seeking associate attorneys for our Coldwater and Sturgis, Michiga...

Apply now

Attorney

USA-MI-Coldwater

Qualifications: HaasCaywood is seeking associate attorneys for our Coldwater and Sturgis, Michiga...

Apply now

Deputy General Counsel / Senior Deputy General Counsel

USA-CA-Sacramento

Cal Cities Culture and Mission Cal Cities is dedicated to creating a collaborative and inclusive ...

Apply now

BCG FEATURED JOB

Locations:

Keyword:



Search Now

Education Law Attorney

USA-CA-El Segundo

El Segundo office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law attorney with ...

Apply Now

Education Law Attorney

USA-CA-Carlsbad

Carlsbad office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law attorney with 4-...

Apply Now

Education Law and Public Entity Attorney

USA-CA-El Segundo

El Segundo office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law and public ent...

Apply Now

SEARCH IN ARCHIVE

To Top