Four erosion control company owners or managers plead guilty to rigging bids and fixing prices, officials stated.
The guilty pleas are part of a conspiracy targeting over $100 million in publicly funded transportation construction contracts across Oklahoma.
The four who plead guilty are the following individuals:
- Stanley Mark Smith, a company owner, pleaded guilty Tuesday.
- Roy Henry Henrich, a former owner and officer of another company, pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, 2023.
- Ryan Ashley Sullivan, an owner and executive of a third company, pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2023
- James Travis Feazel, a former operations manager of a fourth company, pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2023.
The defendants each pleaded guilty to a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. They each face up to 10 years in prison and fines totaling $1 million or more.
According to court documents filed in federal court in Oklahoma City, Smith, Heinrich, Sullivan, and Feazel conspired, along with others, to rig bids, fix prices, and allocate contracts for erosion control products and services.
Starting in 2017, Smith, Heinrich, Sullivan, Feazel, and their co-conspirators agreed to raise prices and divide up contracts across different areas of Oklahoma.
As part of this criminal conspiracy, they often sent intentionally high-priced bids or outright refused to bid.
Smith — whose company targeted over $42 million worth of contracts as part of the conspiracy — and Feazel — whose company targeted over $50 million worth of contracts — continued conspiring into April 2023. Heinrich — whose company targeted over $7 million worth of contracts — was part of the conspiracy until at least July 2021, and Sullivan was part of the conspiracy until at least April 2019.
“In Oklahoma and across the United States, Americans depend on transportation infrastructure as they travel to work, study, shop and visit family. Protecting fair and open competition for the public contracts that fund this infrastructure has never been more vital,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Adding, “These guilty pleas show that the Justice Department and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners are committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who uses criminal schemes to target infrastructure contracts.”
“Protecting fair and open marketplace competition is essential to protect taxpayers and to ensure consumers can trust publicly funded contracts” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “Corporate executives who conspire to rig bids and fix prices will be held accountable. I applaud the detailed work by the investigators and prosecutors in this case.”
The fine 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.
The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and FBI Oklahoma City Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Bethany Lipman, Matthew Grisier, Marc Hedrich of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Farrior for the Western District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information about this investigation or other procurement fraud schemes should notify the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) at www.justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint.