A federal jury convicted Sioux Erosion Control Inc. and two of its executives for participating in a five-year price-fixing conspiracy targeting more than $100 million in publicly funded transportation contracts in Oklahoma on Aug. 20.
The conviction involved bid rigging and market allocation — the most serious forms of antitrust violations, which are treated as per se criminal under federal law and directly harm taxpayers by inflating the cost of public infrastructure.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division prosecuted the case, securing a jury conviction rather than a negotiated plea, according to the department’s announcement. The conspiracy ran for approximately five years and affected publicly funded transportation projects across the state.
Bid rigging occurs when competitors secretly agree in advance who will win a government contract and at what price, eliminating the competitive bidding process designed to protect taxpayer dollars. Market allocation involves competitors dividing territories or customers to avoid competing with one another.
The convicted executives face potential prison sentences and fines under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Sioux Erosion Control faces corporate fines that can reach hundreds of millions of dollars under federal antitrust sentencing guidelines.
The conviction sends a deterrent signal to government contractors that price-fixing conspiracies will be prosecuted criminally, the Justice Department said. Government contract fraud investigations remain a stated priority for the Antitrust Division.
Oklahoma’s transportation infrastructure spending, like that of all states, is funded through a combination of federal and state tax dollars. Price-fixing in government contracting directly increases costs borne by taxpayers.