A California construction-company owner who participated in a bid-rigging and bribery conspiracy involving contracts for California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) projects was given a 78-month prison term and required to pay nearly a $1 million, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced recently.
“This sentence sends a strong message that criminals who corrupt the competitive-bidding process will face stern consequences,” Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division said in a DOJ press release issued April 17. "Protecting infrastructure spending and taxpayer dollars remains a top priority for the Antitrust Division and our Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners."
Contractor Bill R. Miller entered a guilty plea on Nov. 14, 2022, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento for his role in a scheme to involve others in submitting sham bids for Caltrans construction projects between April 2015 and December 2019, according to the news release. In addition to the prison sentence, Miller has been ordered to pay 984,699.53 in restitution.
In his guilty plea, Miller admitted to bid-rigging and paying bribes to Choon Foo "Keith" Yong, a former Caltrans contract manager who oversaw the affected contracts, according to the release. Yong received the bribes in the form of cash payments, wine, furniture, and remodeling services for his home, the release states. The bribes that Miller gave to Yong were worth close to $1 million in all.
Yong entered a guilty plea for his part in the bid-rigging and bribery scam on April 11, 2022. William D. Opp, Miller’s former business partner and a co-conspirator in the scheme, pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2022, for his participation in submitting fake bids on Caltrans contracts. Miller is the first defendant in the case to be sentenced, the release states.
“A lengthy investigation and a series of guilty pleas has led to the sentencing today for a bid-rigging and bribery conspiracy," U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert for the Eastern District of California said in the release. "But our work is not done. Anticompetitive practices harm taxpayers and legitimate businesses alike. My office will continue to investigate and prosecute such conduct.”
