You think you're competing fairly for a government contract. Your company does quality work. You've been in business for fifteen years. Then one morning, FBI agents appear at your office door with a search warrant. They're not interested in your current projects. They want records from three years ago.
The bid you submitted back then. The phone call with a competitor you barely remember. The informal agreement about who would win which contract. The thing you thought nobody would ever find out about.
The federal government has been building a case against you for years. And you had no idea.
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. We handle federal antitrust defense, including bid rigging charges under the Sherman Act. If you've received a grand jury subpoena, if federal agents have executed a search warrant at your business, or if you're aware of conduct that could constitute bid rigging - this article explains exactly what you're facing.
The Federal Strike Force Targeting Your Industry
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created something most people have never heard of: the Procurement Collusion Strike Force. This is a multi-agency task force dedicated specifically to detecting and prosecuting bid rigging and price fixing in government contracting.
The FBI is involved. Defense Criminal Investigative Service. HHS Office of Inspector General. VA Inspector General. And others. All coordinated through the DOJ Antitrust Division.
As of September 2024, the Strike Force had:
- Opened more than 140 federal grand jury investigations
- Secured over 60 criminal guilty pleas or trial convictions
- Prosecuted more than 65 companies and individuals
- Collected over $65 million in criminal fines and restitution
- Investigated cases involving more than $500 million in government contracts
These aren't abstract threats. These are real executives going to real federal prisons.
In September 2024, Siemens Energy pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and agreed to pay a $104 million fine. The company had rigged a bid by using a competitor's confidential bidding information, which had been wrongfully obtained from one of the customer's employees. Three Siemens executives - the account manager, regional manager, and executive vice president - each pleaded guilty and recieved prison sentences ranging from 21 to 43 months.
Heres the part that should concern you most.
The DOJ is now using wiretaps to investigate bid rigging. In December 2023, the Strike Force secured a seven-count indictment against wildfire services executives using wiretap evidence. The government recorded there phone conversations for months before anyone knew they were being watched.
Think about that. Wiretaps. The investigative tool traditionaly reserved for drug trafficking and organized crime. Now being used against businesspeople who thought there discussions with competitors were private.
Your phone calls may already be recorded. Your emails may already be in the hands of federal investigators. The investigation into your conduct may have been running for years - and you would have absolutley no idea until agents show up with a warrant.
Why Bid Rigging Means Prison, Not Just Fines
Most businesspeople think of antitrust as a civil matter. Maybe the company gets fined. Maybe theres a lawsuit. Nobody goes to jail.
Thats completely wrong.
Bid rigging is a "per se" violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Per se means the government does NOT need to prove that your scheme actualy harmed competition. They don't need to show any damages. They don't need to demonstrate that prices went up or quality went down.
The agreement itself is the crime.
If prosecutors can prove you agreed with a competitor to rig a bid - even if the scheme was never fully executed, even if nobody lost any money - you have committed a federal felony. Period.
The penalties under the Sherman Act are severe:
- Individuals: Up to 10 years in federal prison and fines up to $1 million
- Corporations: Fines up to $100 million, or twice the gain or loss from the offense - whichever is greater
And according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, about 47% of individual antitrust offenders actually receive prison time. That breaks down to 30.5% receiving prison only and 16.7% receiving a split sentence that includes some prison.
The average prison term is 15 to 20 months. But sentences can be much longer. One Procurement Collusion Strike Force case resulted in a 78-month prison sentence - more then six years.
But prison is just the beginning. The punishment stack for bid rigging includes:
- Criminal conviction with up to 10 years imprisonment
- Individual fines up to $1 million
- Corporate fines up to $100 million
- Immediate debarment from ALL future government contracts
- Civil treble damages (3x actual damages) paid to victims
- False Claims Act penalties if government contracts were involved
- Permanent reputational destruction
One bid rigging scheme can end your career and bankrupt your company at the same time.
The Leniency Race: First Confessor Gets Immunity
Heres were it gets complicated - and were the decisions you make in the next few days could determine the rest of your life.
The DOJ has something called the Leniency Program. Under this program, the FIRST company or individual to self-report a bid rigging conspiracy can receive complete immunity from criminal prosecution.
Read that carefully. The FIRST one.
Only one company can get immunity. Everyone else gets charged.
The requirements are straightforward: Be the first to report the conspiracy. Confess your involvement fully and honestly. Provide continuing cooperation to investigators. Take steps to end participation in the conspiracy. Make restitution to victims were possible.
If you meet those requirements and your the first to come forward - you walk away without criminal charges while everyone else goes to prison.
Think about what that means. Your co-conspirator - the competitor you made the agreement with - might already be talking to there lawyer about whether to seek leniency. While your sitting here reading this article, trying to decide what to do, they might already be on the phone with the Antitrust Division.
Hesitation can foreclose this opportunity forever. There is no second place in the leniency race.
Look at what happened in the IT services procurement investigation. In September 2024, FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service agents raided Carahsoft Technology's headquarters. Just over a month later, the DOJ announced criminal charges against six individuals. By January 2025, four of them had pleaded guilty.
The first ones to cooperate got better deals. The ones who waited faced the full weight of federal prosecution.
This is a race. And second place means prison.
What To Do If Your Under Investigation
If you've received a grand jury subpoena, if federal agents have contacted you, or if your aware of conduct that might constitute bid rigging - there are critical steps you need to take immediately.
Do NOT talk to investigators without counsel present.
Do NOT destroy any documents.
Your immediate priorities:
- Contact a federal antitrust defense attorney today, not tomorrow
- Preserve ALL documents, emails, and communications - document destruction is obstruction of justice
- Do not communicate with co-conspirators about the investigation
- Evaluate immediately whether your a candidate for the leniency program
- Understand that the investigation may have been running for years before you knew
There are defense strategies available. A skilled defense attorney can challenge the legality of wiretaps or search warrants. They can negotiate cooperation agreements that reduce exposure. They can pursue deferred prosecution agreements that avoid conviction entirely in some cases. They can challenge whether the conduct actualy constitutes a per se violation rather then requiring full rule-of-reason analysis.
But all of these options narrow as time passes. The window for leniency closes the moment someone else applies. The opportunity to shape the narrative disappears once investigators have already interviewed witnesses.
Todd Spodek has defended clients facing federal antitrust charges. He understands the difference between the investigation stage where options remain open and the indictment stage where your fighting for your freedom.
When Your Ready
If your facing a federal bid rigging investigation or charges, Spodek Law Group can help you understand where you stand and what options exist.
The consultation is free. Theirs no obligation.
What you'll get is an honest assessment. Are you a candidate for leniency? Has that window already closed? What stage is the investigation at? What does the evidence likely show? What are realistic outcomes based on how these cases actualy play out in federal court?
Call us at 888-997-4071. The leniency program is first-come-first-served. While your thinking about what to do, your co-conspirators might already be picking up the phone.
Time matters here more then in almost any other type of federal case.
Were here when you need us.
