2nd Aftermarket Auto Lights Distributor to Plead Guilty to Price-Fixing
The Justice Department has announced that a second California aftermarket auto lights distributor, Maxzone Vehicle Lighting Corp., has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $43 million criminal fine for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Maxzone Conspired with Others to Suppress & Eliminate Competition
Maxzone is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Taiwan-based aftermarket auto lights manufacturer Depo Auto Parts Industrial Co. Ltd. Maxzone allegedly conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of aftermarket auto lights from about April 2000 to about September 3, 2008.
Maxzone & Co-Conspirators Monitored & Enforced Adherence to Fixed Prices
According to the charge, Maxzone and co-conspirators participated in a conspiracy in which the participants met and agreed to charge prices of aftermarket auto lights at certain predetermined levels. The participants allegedly issued price announcements and price lists in accordance with the agreements reached, and collected and exchanged information on prices and sales of aftermarket auto lights for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices. The conspirators met in Taiwan, the U.S. and elsewhere for their discussions.
Maxzone Agreed to Pay $43M Criminal Fine, is Second U.S. Distributor Charged
Maxzone is the second U.S. distributor of aftermarket auto lights to be charged in connection with the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the aftermarket auto lights industry. Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Maxzone has agreed to pay a $43 million criminal fine and to assist the Department in its ongoing investigation.
Other Distributor & 3 Individuals Have Also Been Charged w/ Price Fixing
On August 30, 2011, the Department announced that Sabry Lee Inc., another U.S. after market auto lights distributor, was charged and had agreed to plead guilty for participation in a conspiracy to fix prices. Three individuals have also been charged: (i) Polo Shu-Sheng Hsu, the former president and chief executive officer of Maxzone was sentenced to serve 180 days in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine; (ii) Chien Chung Chen, the former executive vice president of Sabry Lee, is currently scheduled to be sentenced in December 2011; and (iii) Homy Hong-Ming Hsu, the vice chairman and second highest-ranking officer of a Taiwan manufacturer of aftermarket auto lights, was indicted in July 2011.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/31/11 news, 11083105, for BP summary of Sabry Lee Inc., also a California aftermarket auto lights distributor, agreeing to plead guilty for price fixing.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 03/23/11, 02/09/11, and 07/20/11 news, 11032312, 11020929, and 11072014, for BP summaries of Chien Chung Chen and Polo Shu-Sheng Hsu agreeing to plead guilty to, and of Homy Hong-Ming Hsu being indicted for their participation in a price-fixing conspiracy.)