Business & Tech
Feds In NJ ‘Trust-Bust’ Ex-Chemical Executive For Price-Fixing
"Corruption and collusion at any level in our society is unacceptable," a special agent with the Newark FBI office said.
NEWARK, NJ — A former chemical company executive faces a possible 10 years in jail and a $1 million fine after pleading guilty to his role in a conspiracy to “eliminate the competition” by rigging bids, allocating customers and fixing the price for a chemical that was sold to several municipalities and pulp and paper companies throughout the nation.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Brian C. Steppig, the former director of sales and marketing at GEO Specialty Chemicals Inc., admitted he colluded with his competitors to not compete for contracts for liquid aluminum sulfate, a chemical used to treat drinking and waste water, as well as for paper production.
The FBI’s New Jersey office in Newark and the DOJ’s Antitrust Division’s New York Office cooperated on the investigation into Steppig and the Lafayette, Indiana-based GEO Specialty Chemicals, prosecutors said.
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According to court documents, Steppig and his co-conspirators agreed not to pursue each other’s historical customers. To carry out that agreement, Steppig and his co-conspirators discussed prices to be quoted to customers and submitted intentionally losing bids to favor the intended winner, prosecutors said.
The conspiracy took place from 2005 to February 2011, the DOJ stated.
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DOJ spokespeople stated that a violation of the Sherman Act – a federal law passed more than 100 years ago to “trust-bust” corporate monopolies - can result in 10 years in jail and a $1 million fine, according to the DOJ. The maximum fine for a Sherman Act charge may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
No additional sentencing information was given in a news release about the plea deal.
“The FBI is thorough in ensuring that anyone intent on corrupting our free market system is brought to justice,” said Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher of the FBI's Newark Division. “Corruption and collusion at any level in our society is unacceptable.”
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