Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Department of Justice employees recognized for service in annual awards ceremony, (Oct 15, 2014)

Attorney General Eric Holder recognized 278 Justice Department employees for their distinguished public service today at the 62^nd Annual Attorney General’s Awards Ceremony. Two of the awards involved high-profile antitrust enforcement efforts.

The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service is the Justice Department’s second highest award for employee performance. The recipients of the award exemplify the highest commitment to the department’s mission. Ten Distinguished Service Awards were presented this year to individuals or teams of people.

One of the Distinguished Service Awards was presented to members of the investigative and litigation team responsible for the prosecution of conspiracies in the automobile parts industry. This team, honored for its leadership, dedication and tireless investigation of global anticompetitive cartels, is responsible for the historic prosecution of over a dozen price-fixing, bid-rigging and market-allocation conspiracies in the automobile parts industry. This four-year investigation was unprecedented in both its scope and the volume of commerce affected by the illegal conduct. Due to the team’s efforts, 26 companies have agreed to pay fines totaling $2.3 billion and 20 individuals have been sentenced to serve jail sentences. The conspiracies uncovered by the investigation affected more than 25 million cars purchased by American consumers and over $5 billion in automotive parts sold to U.S. car manufacturers and automobile plants in 14 states. As a result of the extraordinary efforts of the team, competition was restored to the auto parts industry, and the companies and individuals responsible were held accountable for their illegal conduct.

Award recipients include, from the Antitrust Division, Chief Lisa M. Phelan; Assistant Chief Kathryn M. Hellings; Trial Attorneys Shane Cralle, Paul Gallagher, Kenneth W. Gaul, Mark C. Grundvig, Jason Jones and Eric Meiring; Washington Criminal I Section Secretary Priscilla Scruggs; Paralegal Unit Paralegal Specialist Meghan Ballard; and Office of Operations Trial Attorney Portia Brown; from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agents Kristina Honeycutt and Faustine M. Smith-Neil; and from the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, Special Agent Douglas R. Wood Jr.

Another Distinguished Service Award was presented to some of the government employees who worked on the investigation into manipulation of the London InterBank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor). Between June 2012 and October 2013, members of the LIBOR team resolved cases with four of the world’s largest financial institutions: Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays), UBS AG (UBS), The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS), and Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Rabobank). At all four institutions, certain derivatives traders requested that certain rate submitters submit LIBOR and/or Euribor contributions that would benefit the traders’ positions, rather than rates that complied with the definitions of LIBOR and Euribor. In addition, at Barclays and UBS, management directed that LIBOR submissions be lowered in order to reduce the reputational risk associated with proper, higher LIBOR submissions. To date, the criminal penalties assessed by the department and resulting from the LIBOR team’s actions exceed $1.1 billion.

Award recipients include, from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Acting Deputy Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Rebecca A. Rohr; Acting Fraud Section Chief William J. Stellmach; Deputy Fraud Section Chiefs Daniel Braun and Patrick F. Stokes; Assistant Fraud Section Chief Sandra Moser; and Trial Attorneys Alexander H. Berlin and Gary Winters; from the Antitrust Division, Assistant Chief Elizabeth B. Prewitt; Trial Attorneys Ludovic C. Ghesquiere, Richard A. Powers and Daniel M. Tracer; New York Office Legal Administrative Officer Caitlin E. Morrison; Chicago Office Trial Attorney Eric L. Schleef; and Litigation I Section Trial Attorney Michael T. Koenig; from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Special Agents Patrick M. Boone, Michael P. Kelly, Michael J. McGillicuddy, Kendra S. McLamb and Jeffrey Weeks; and Forensic Accountant Kyle D. Dornbos.

“With this important event, we come together to honor some of our nation’s most distinguished, dedicated, and deserving public servants,” said Attorney General Holder. “The hard work and impressive achievements of these 278 award recipients have inspired their colleagues at every level of the U.S. Department of Justice – including me. Their leadership has been indispensable in defining the past year as one of historic accomplishment in the face of nearly unprecedented challenge.”

News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews