Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Eighth guilty plea entered in Georgia real estate foreclosure auction probe, (Jun 8, 2015)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

A Georgia real estate investor who has charged in April with conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions has pleaded guilty. The Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced David Wedean’s guilty plea on June 5 (U.S. v. Wedean, Criminal No. 1:15-cr-00134-WSD).

A four-count felony charge was filed in the federal district court in Atlanta on April 27. According to the filing, from approximately March 2007 until August 2011, Wedean conspired to rig bids for selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia's Fulton County. He also was charged with conspiring to rig bids for properties in DeKalb County between March 2007 and September 2011. Wedean was in the business of buying foreclosed properties and then rehabilitating, selling, or renting those homes. In addition, Wedean was charged with conspiring to commit mail fraud in carrying out the two bid rigging conspiracies.

“The defendant conspired with other real estate investors to profit by defrauding mortgage holders and property owners,” said William Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. “This case, which is the eighth prosecution so far against defendants for rigging public foreclosure auctions in Georgia, demonstrates the Division’s continuing commitment to rooting out corruption and fraud in real estate markets around the country.”

The Antitrust Division's investigation into anticompetitive conduct at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia is continuing. Seven individuals and one company have pleaded guilty to the charges, the first of which was filed in September 2013.

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