A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty on July 26 for his role in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies committed at various public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, the US Department of Justice announced.
James R. Patterson Jr. has admitted that he agreed with other real estate investors to rig auctions of foreclosed homes in Gwinnett County from May 2007 until at least November 2011. According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Patterson and others agreed to not compete for the purchase of selected foreclosed homes so that they could win the auctions for those homes with artificially low bids. The winning bidders would subsequently pay off the conspirators who had held back from bidding against them.
The result was that the conspirators profited from money that otherwise would have gone to mortgage holders and in some cases, to the people who owned the foreclosed homes.
Full Content: US Department of Justice
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
European Music Streaming Firms Rally Against Apple’s Proposed Remedies
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Google and South Carolina Clash Over State Records Demand
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Telefonica Germany Teams Up with Amazon Web Services to Migrate 5G Customers
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Grants $7.4 Million Settlement in Pork Price-Fixing Case
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Wilson Sonsini Bolsters Antitrust and Competition Practice with Key Partner Returns
May 8, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI