A Savanah, Georgia, concrete giant and four executives have been sentenced in the conclusion of a lengthy million-dollar price fixing, fraud, and bid-rigging case.
Evans Concrete LLC is the company at the center of the storm, with executives James Clayton Pedrick, Gregory Hall Melton, John David Melton, and Timothy “Bo” Strickland.
In September 2020, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against the company and its executives. At the time, Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven Stuller, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG), said, “Activities related to illegal price-fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation do not promote an environment conducive to open competition. When this occurs, the consumer is not guaranteed the best products at the lowest prices.”
The sentencing was agreed upon after Pedrick, Strickland, and Evans Concrete pleaded guilty. Gregory Hall Melton and John David Melton were convicted by a jury decision in July of this year.
Concrete company, and four executives sentenced
According to the court documents and evidence, the company and the executives coordinated the “issuance of price-increase letters to customers, allocating specific ready-mix concrete jobs in the coastal Georgia area, and submitting bids to customers at collusive and noncompetitive prices. The charged conspiracy began as early as 2010 and continued until about July 2016.” The FBI Washington Field Office, DOT OIG, and USPS OIG investigated the case.
Gregory Hall Melton was handed a sentence of 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release, he will also pay a $50,000 fine. John David Melton was given 26 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.
Strickland was already sentenced to five months in prison and instructed to pay a $150,000 fine, Pedrick was given one year of probation, and Evans Concrete was instructed to pay a $2.7 million fine.
“These sentences reflect the egregious nature of rigging bids for materials like ready-mix concrete which are essential to the American economy,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Manish Kumar of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
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