A thirty-seventh individual pleaded guilty to participating in a
conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate
foreclosure auctions in Northern California. The guilty plea,
entered on Monday, November 4, is yet another victory for the
Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division in its ongoing
investigations into a bid rigging and mail fraud conspiracy that
took place from 2007 to 2011.
According to the DOJ, the conspirators arranged winning bidders
for specific public real estate foreclosure auctions in several
California counties. After acquiring the properties at
sub-competitive prices, the conspirators then conducted a second,
private auction only open to members of the bid rigging ring.
The difference in the private auction price and public
auction price could then be used for payoffs to the conspiracy
members. Had the public auctions been competitive and free
from bid rigging, however, that same money taken by the conspiracy
would
