Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Former Alabama real estate investor pleads guilty to mail fraud conspiracy, (Nov 3, 2014)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the Alabama real estate foreclosure auction industry has netted another guilty plea. Chad E. Foster, a former real estate investor, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced on October 31. A federal grand jury in Mobile, Alabama, had returned a one-count indictment against Foster in March (U.S. v. Foster, Case 1:14-cr-00067-WS).

According to the indictment, the challenged conduct took place between February 2005 and January 2007. Foster allegedly conspired with others to, among other things, conduct secret, second auctions open only to members of the conspiracy, to make payoffs to and receive payoffs from co-conspirators, and to divert money away from financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in selected properties. The conduct caused artificially suppressed purchase prices to be paid to financial institutions and others with a legal interest in selected properties, it was alleged.

Since 2011, nine other individuals and two companies have pleaded guilty in connection with the government’s investigation, according to the Justice Department.

News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews