A Georgia real estate investor pleaded guilty on July 26 for his role in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies committed at various public real estate foreclosure auctions in Georgia, the US Department of Justice announced.
James R. Patterson Jr. has admitted that he agreed with other real estate investors to rig auctions of foreclosed homes in Gwinnett County from May 2007 until at least November 2011. According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Patterson and others agreed to not compete for the purchase of selected foreclosed homes so that they could win the auctions for those homes with artificially low bids. The winning bidders would subsequently pay off the conspirators who had held back from bidding against them.
The result was that the conspirators profited from money that otherwise would have gone to mortgage holders and in some cases, to the people who owned the foreclosed homes.
Full Content: US Department of Justice
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Sam Bankman-Fried Receives 25-Year Sentence for $8B Crypto Fraud
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Walmart Withdraws and Refiles Antitrust Review Application for Vizio Acquisition
Mar 28, 2024 by
CPI
Apple Prevails in Dismissal of Crypto-Payment Antitrust Lawsuit
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Amazon Fined in Poland for Misleading Customers
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Credit Card Rewards Under Threat as Visa, Mastercard Settlement Impacts Swipe Fees
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Real Estate & Antitrust
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Systematic National Evidence of Steering by Real Estate Agents
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Compliance Now! Actionable Antitrust Advice for the Residential Real Estate Industry
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
Real Estate Commissions: Some Insights from the Economics of Multi-Sided Platforms
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI
New Ideas for Promoting Real Estate Brokerage Price Competition
Mar 27, 2024 by
CPI