Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LITIGATION NEWS, TRENDS—Nevada home health agency executive convicted of fraud and wage fixing, (Apr 17, 2025)

By Brian Craig, J.D.

A federal jury convicted the Nevada man of one count of participating in a wage-fixing conspiracy and five counts of wire fraud.

A federal jury in Nevada has convicted healthcare staffing executive Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez for participating in a three-year conspiracy fix the wages for home healthcare nurses in Las Vegas and for fraudulently failing to disclose the criminal antitrust investigation during the sale of his home healthcare staffing company, the Department of Justice announced. The conspiracy with the sale of the home healthcare business, Community Health, to a company known generally as Solace Nevada, affected the wages of hundreds of Las Vegas registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Lopez was convicted of one count of participating in a wage-fixing conspiracy and five counts of wire fraud, with sentencing scheduled for July 14 (U.S. v. Lopez, No. 2:23-cr-00055-CDS-DJA (D. Nev.)).

Indictments. Federal prosecutors charged the home health agency executive first with wire fraud and a price fixing conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act in March 2023 with participating in a series of meetings and communications to fix wages of nurses. In September 2023, a superseding indictment was returned charging Lopez with five additional counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The superseding indictment repeats the antitrust charge, then it further alleged that after Lopez discovered an FBI investigation into the wage fixing conspiracy, he sold his health care staffing company for $12.5 million, falsely representing to the buyer that federal law enforcement was not investigating him or the company. During the pendency of the government’s investigation, prosecutors accused the executive then sold his home healthcare staffing company while fraudulently concealing the government’s criminal investigation from the buyer.

Intent-to-repay defense rejected. In a pretrial order on April 4, 2025, the court precluded the executive from asserting the intent-to-repay defense. The executive argued that at the time he entered into the negotiations, and then ultimately sold his company, Community Health to Solace Nevada, he could not have intended to deceive or cheat them because he committed to repaying them in full if the indemnification provision was ever implicated. Lopez repeatedly argued that the indemnification provision is evidence that he did not intend to deceive or cheat because “all the risk” was on him. But the district court ruled that the Ninth Circuit, in United States v. Miller, 953 F.3d 1095 (9th Cir. 2020) makes clear this sort of defense is improper, as an intent to repay is irrelevant.

Sentencing scheduled. The home health agency executive is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14. A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals. A violation of the wire fraud statute carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Cristina D. Silva, appointed by President Joe Biden, will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Prosecutor’s comments. Federal prosecutors hope the conviction will send a clear message to others. “Wage-fixing agreements are nakedly unlawful attempts at unjustly profiting off American workers,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail A. Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s verdict highlights what should be a clear message with antitrust crimes: the agreement is the crime. The Antitrust Division will zealously prosecute those who seek to unjustly profit off their employees. The nurses here deserved better and, under President Trump’s leadership, they will be protected.”

The Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s International Corruption Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada. Senior Litigation Counsel Jeffrey Cramer and Mikal Condon, Assistant Chief Andrew Mast, and Trial Attorneys Paradi Javandel and Conor Bradley, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez are prosecuting the case.

Significant victory. The guilty verdict is a significant victory for the Antitrust Division. Earlier criminal cases brought by the Antitrust Division alleging wage fixing have failed. Most recently, in March 2023, four owners and/or operators of Maine home health care agencies were found not guilty by a jury in the Maine federal district court of conspiring to fix rates paid for the services of Personal Support Specialist or PSS workers.

And, in April 2022, the former owner of a therapist staffing company was acquitted of participating in a conspiracy to fix prices by lowering the rates paid to physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in north Texas. That individual was, however, convicted of obstructing the FTC investigation of the challenged conduct.

The Case is No. 2:23-cr-00055-CDS-DJA.

Attorneys: Albert Bilog Sambat, U.S. Department of Justice, for U.S. Mark Louis Krotoski (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman) for Eduardo Ruben Lopez.

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