
Two providers of foreign-language services, Comprehensive Language Center Inc. (CLCI), based in the Washington, DC, area, and Berlitz Languages Inc. (Berlitz), based in New Jersey, were charged with participating in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating competitive bidding for a multi-million dollar foreign-language training contract issued by the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2017, the Department of Justice announced today.
“These charges reaffirm the Antitrust Division’s commitment to combating anticompetitive conduct that victimizes government agencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The actions of these companies corrupted the competitive bidding process put into place by the NSA for vital language training services.”
“The result of today’s announcement demonstrates the FBI’s enduring commitment to vigorously address allegations of all types of corruption that may obstruct or hinder the right to fair competition in the marketplace,” said Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. of the FBI Newark Field Office.
According to the one-count felony charges filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Berlitz and CLCI participated in a conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating competitive bidding for a contract to provide foreign-language training services to the NSA. According to court documents, as part of the conspiracy, Berlitz and CLCI facilitated the submission of false and misleading bid information to the NSA. As a result, competition was suppressed among legitimately qualified bidders for the contract, obstructing, by dishonest means, the government’s ability to benefit from a competitive bidding process. The charged conspiracy began as early as March 2017 and continued until as late as December 2017.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Federal Reserve Greenlights Capital One’s $35.3 Billion Acquisition of Discover
Apr 18, 2025 by
CPI
Google to Appeal Partial Ruling in DOJ Antitrust Case
Apr 18, 2025 by
CPI
Indian Ad Agencies Warned Against WhatsApp Discussions After Antitrust Raids
Apr 17, 2025 by
CPI
US Court Ruling Against Google Spurs Fresh Antitrust Tensions in Europe
Apr 17, 2025 by
CPI
AstraZeneca Accused of Stifling Biosimilar Competition for Rare Disease Drug
Apr 17, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – The Airline Industry
Apr 10, 2025 by
CPI
Boosting Competition in International Aviation
Apr 10, 2025 by
Jeffrey N. Shane
Reshaping Competition Policy for the U.S. Airline Industry
Apr 10, 2025 by
Diana L. Moss
Algorithmic Collusion in the Skies: The Role of AI in Shaping Airline Competition
Apr 10, 2025 by
Qi Ge, Myongjin Kim & Nicholas Rupp
Competition in U.S. Airline Markets: Major Developments and Economic Insights
Apr 10, 2025 by
Germán Bet