US: Commercial flooring contractor pleads guilty to bid rigging

PCI FlorTech, an Illinois-based commercial flooring contractor, has been charged for its role in a long-running conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring services and products sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday, August 20.

PCI FlorTech has agreed to plead guilty and pay a US$150,000 criminal fine for its role in the conspiracy and to cooperate in the Division’s ongoing investigation. PCI FlorTech’s charge follows the guilty plea of a former vice president of another commercial flooring contractor.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, PCI FlorTech engaged in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the commercial flooring market by submitting complementary bids to ensure that the designated company would win the bidding. PCI FlorTech participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as 2009 until at least June 2017.

“Today marks the first charge brought against a corporation for rigging bids and undermining the competitive process that consumers—including schools and charities—depend upon to get a competitive price for flooring,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “We will continue to investigate and prosecute contractors and their executives who cheat in the bidding process.”