Two investors enter into guilty pleas for rigging bids on NJ municipal tax liens

Robert Stein and David Farber, two financial investors who purchased municipal tax liens at New Jersey auctions, have pleaded guilty to bid-rigging. According to the charges, Stein and Farber sought to obtain municipal tax liens at non-competitive interest rates by conspiring with othes not to bid against one another: by law, the bid opens at 18 percent interest and can be driven down to zero through competitive bidding.

Source: DOJ Press Release