{"id":6258,"date":"2014-09-29T22:27:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T05:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=6258"},"modified":"2014-09-29T22:27:00","modified_gmt":"2014-09-30T05:27:00","slug":"far-29-companies-including-japan-base-manufacturer-plead-guilty-price-fixing-paid-2-4-billion-fines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=6258","title":{"rendered":"Auto Manufacturer Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing and Agrees to Pay a $26 Million Fine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"U.S.<\/a>WASHINGTON<\/strong> \u2014 A Japan-Based manufacture of automotive parts plead guilty and agreed to pay a $26 million criminal fine for its role in conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for automotive hoses, airbags and steering wheels sold to automobile manufacturers, federal officials announced Monday<\/p>\n

According to a two-count felony charge filed \u00a0in the U.S. District Court \u00a0in Toledo, \u00a0Toyoda Gosei \u00a0Inc.<\/strong> conspired to fix the prices of certain automotive hoses sold to Toyota Motor Corp. and certain of its subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers in the United States.<\/p>\n

So far, \u00a043 defendants have been charged in the government\u2019s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Twenty-nine companies, including Toyoda Gosei, have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty and have agreed to pay a total of nearly $2.4 billion in fines.<\/p>\n

In addition, Gosei .conspired to fix the prices of automotive airbags and steering wheels sold to Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. and certain of its subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers, and certain of their subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers .<\/p>\n

Toyoda Gosei agreed to cooperate in the department\u2019s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement is \u00a0subject to court approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen purchasing an automobile, American consumers should feel confident that the sticker price is based on fair market costs to manufacture the vehicle,\u201d said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the \u00a0U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division\u2019s criminal enforcement program. \u201cThe Antitrust Division will continue to prosecute cases in the auto parts industry to ensure fair and competitive prices are maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is how authorities claim that Toyoda Gosei and other co-conspirators committed these crimes:<\/strong><\/p>\n