Antitrust Lawyer Blog

  Although the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) became functional on April 1, 2008, several other provisions of the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007 (“Competition Act”) have not been notified. According to the Indian legislative process, the Act, even though passed by the Parliament, has to be notified by the President of India to become functional.…

On July 17, 2009, Patriot Services Inc. (“Patriot”), a temporary staffing company used by various government agencies and departments, and its owner/president, Stephanie Blackmon, pled guilty to making a false statement to the U.S. Small Business Association (“SBA”). Although Ms. Blackmon was officially the owner/president of Patriot from November 2003, the operations of Patriot was…

On July 6, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) modified a 2004 consent order against Aspen Technology, Inc. (“Aspen Tech”). On May 31, 2002, Aspen Tech consummated a $106.1 million acquisition of Hyprotech, Ltd., its closest competitor in developing and supplying certain specialized engineering process simulation software products, according to the FTC. In August 2003,…

On July 6, 2009, Robert P. Griffiths, a former executive at Bennett Environmental Inc (“BEI”), a Canadian company that provides soil treatment, pled guilty to charges for paying kickbacks and committing fraud at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Superfund-site Federal Creosote in New Jersey. Mr. Griffiths also pled guilty to money laundering charges and…

On July 6, a number of news sources reported that the DOJ has begun looking into whether large U.S. telecommunications companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are abusing their market power they have amassed in recent years. The review is an indication of the Obama administration’s aggressive stance on antitrust enforcement. Christine…

On July 1, 2009, First Lieutenant Robert Moore (Ret.), plead guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges. Mr. Moore accepted money from contracts in exchange for Department of Defense (“DOD”) contracts at the Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan (“Bagram”). He also falsified the number of bunkers and barriers delivered to Bagram, causing the DOD to pay for bunkers…

On June 30, 2009, Franch A. March, a chief executive officer of a former Virginia marine products company, pled guilty for his role in conspiracy to rig bids and allocate customers with respect to foam-filled fenders and buoys bought by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Card, and other private companies. Mr. March has also agreed…

On June 25, 2009, Tijani Ahmed Saani, a contracting officer at the Department of Defense, plead guilty to filing false tax returns from 2003 to 2007. While working on detail at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, he failed to properly file tax returns by not reporting overseas bank accounts in the United States and Jersey Channel Islands.

On June 25, 2009, Frederick Landgraber, a co-owner of a New Jersey landscaping company, plead guilty to his role in a fraud conspiracy at the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”)-Superfund site, Federal Creosote. Mr. Landgraber was involved in the conspiracy from March 2002 to June 2005. Mr. Landgraber paid $30,000 to an employee prime contractor at…

On June 23, 2009, John C. Malone, the chairman of the board of Liberty Media Corporation and the chief executive officer of Discovery Holding Co. (“Discovery”), agreed to pay a penalty of $1.4 million for violating premerger reporting and waiting requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act of 1976 when acquiring Discovery.Mr. Malone violated premerger notification…