Sacramento – The U.S. Department of Justice last week announced a guilty plea in a San Joaquin County real estate bid rigging case. The Justice Department announced in a release Friday said Anthony B. Ghio, 43, of Stockton, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia. Ghio pleaded guilty to “conspiring to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County.” U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said “charges arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate auctions in San Joaquin County.” Prosecutors said “Ghio admitted in his guilty plea that he conspired with a group of real estate speculators who agreed not to bid against each other at certain public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County.” Authorities said the “primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition and obtain selected real estate offered at San Joaquin County public foreclosure auctions at noncompetitive prices.” Court documents showed that after the conspirators’ designated bidder bought a property at a public auction, they would hold a second, private auction. Each participating conspirator in the private auction would submit bids above the public auction price. The conspirator who bid the highest amount at the end of the private auction won the property. The difference between the noncompetitive price at the public auction and the winning bid at the second auction was the group’s illicit profit, and it was divided among the conspirators in payoffs. Ghio participated in the bid-rigging scheme from April to October of 2009. Ghio is charged with bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act. It carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim, if either amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Story by TSPN TV News staff. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
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Sacramento – The U.S. Department of Justice last week announced a guilty plea in a San Joaquin County real estate bid rigging case. The Justice Department announced in a release Friday said Anthony B. Ghio, 43, of Stockton, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia. Ghio pleaded guilty to “conspiring to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County.” U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said “charges arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate auctions in San Joaquin County.” Prosecutors said “Ghio admitted in his guilty plea that he conspired with a group of real estate speculators who agreed not to bid against each other at certain public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County.” Authorities said the “primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition and obtain selected real estate offered at San Joaquin County public foreclosure auctions at noncompetitive prices.” Court documents showed that after the conspirators’ designated bidder bought a property at a public auction, they would hold a second, private auction. Each participating conspirator in the private auction would submit bids above the public auction price. The conspirator who bid the highest amount at the end of the private auction won the property. The difference between the noncompetitive price at the public auction and the winning bid at the second auction was the group’s illicit profit, and it was divided among the conspirators in payoffs. Ghio participated in the bid-rigging scheme from April to October of 2009. Ghio is charged with bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act. It carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim, if either amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Story by TSPN TV News staff. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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