Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Georgia real estate investor pleads guilty in bid rigging, fraud investigation, (Oct 8, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty yesterday to Justice Department charges that the individual conspired to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions. The purpose of the conspiracies, according to the Antitrust Division, was to suppress and restrain competition and to divert money to conspirators that would have otherwise been used to pay off mortgages and other holders of debt secured by the properties (U.S. v. Podber, Crim. No. 15-CR-360).

The Antitrust Division’s four-count information, which was filed in the federal district court in Atlanta, charged that the investor—Morris Podber—participated in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at real estate foreclosure auctions in Fulton and DeKalb counties. Podber admitted that he conspired to not bid against co-conspirators at the public auctions on selected properties; that he and co-conspirators would divide properties amongst themselves in private side auctions; and to conspiring to use the mail to carry out the fraud, including exchanges of payoffs and diverting money to co-conspirators, instead of to mortgage holders.

“This is the ninth real estate investor held accountable for bid rigging at public foreclosure auctions in Georgia,” stated Assistant Attorney General William J. Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We will continue to root out anticompetitive conduct at foreclosure auctions and obtain justice for homeowners and lenders.”

News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews