Tag Archives: doj

Two Mexican Illegals Charged in Wisconsin for Odometer Fraud

Posted on 4 April 2014 by Ken Zino

The indictment alleges that from late 2009 through February 2014, the defendants rolled back the odometers on at least 146 vehicles. Continue reading →

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Odometer Fraud and Carfax Scam in New York Uncovered

Posted on 24 March 2014 by Ken Zino

Capicchioni also took steps to hide his odometer fraud scheme. He checked the Carfax public database to see if it included a mileage entry that was higher than the false, lower mileage to which he reset the odometer. When Carfax included a higher mileage, Capicchioni submitted to Carfax fraudulent documentation in the name of the vehicle’s prior owner, in order to have the higher mileage reading removed. Continue reading →

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Toyota Motor Guilty of Criminal Fraud. Cops $1.2 Billion Plea

Posted on 19 March 2014 by Ken Zino

This appears to be ‘cash register justice’ at its worst. Toyota is buying its way out of its blatantly illegal behavior where people died, and former Toyota employees working at NHTSA, the U.S. safety regulator, stalled an investigation and needed recalls for years. Continue reading →

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Las Vegas Biofuels Fraud Revealed in latest EISA Scam

Posted on 20 January 2014 by Ken Zino

Two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas for offenses involving the badly audited federal renewable fuels program that passed out taxpayer money for the production of biodiesel among other things. Continue reading →

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Texas RV and Motorcycle Importers Fined for CAA Abuses

Posted on 10 January 2014 by Ken Zino

Savoia, BMX Imports, BMX Trading, and their owner, Terry Zimmer, allegedly illegally imported motorcycles that didn’t comply with the Clean Air Act, or CAA Continue reading →

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More Japanese Price Fixing from Stanley Electric

Posted on 27 November 2013 by Ken Zino

While the Obama Administration is pushing forward on a secret and job-destroying trade agreement with Japan, another Japanese company, Stanley Electric is caught as part of a huge price fixing cartel, which is hurting the U.S. auto industry and autoworkers as Oriental disdain for U.S. law continues unabated Continue reading →

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Japanese Price Fixing Scandal Expands with Two More Indictments and Prison Sentences for Three Takata Executives

Posted on 21 November 2013 by Ken Zino

Including Hayashi and Nonoyama, 21 companies and 26 executives thus far have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into the automotive parts industry. To date, more than $1.6 billion in criminal fines have been obtained and seventeen of the charged executives have been sentenced to serve time in U.S. prisons or have entered into plea agreements calling for significant prison sentences. Continue reading →

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Nine Japanese Auto Parts Firms Guilty of Price Fixing

Posted on 26 September 2013 by Ken Zino

Including those announced today, 20 companies and 21 executives have been charged in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry, in a scandal that keeps on growing in size and raises serious systemic corruption issues for some of the largest and respected Japanese firms. AutoInformed predicts more indictments are coming. Continue reading →

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CITGO Fined for Pollution

Posted on 20 September 2013 by Ken Zino

CITGO Petroleum Corporation will pay a $737,000 civil penalty and start projects to reduce harmful air pollution in a deal cut by the Department of Justice and EPA with the Houston-based, Venezuelan-owned company. Continue reading →

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Two Fujikura Executives Indicted for Price Fixing

Posted on 20 September 2013 by Ken Zino

A federal grand jury in Detroit returned an indictment against two Fujikura Ltd. executives for their roles in an international conspiracy to fix prices of auto parts used in automotive wire harnesses sold to Subaru and installed in U.S. cars. Continue reading →

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G.S. Electech Executive Indicted for Price Fixing

Posted on 18 September 2013 by Ken Zino

The criminal charge was the first to be filed in Kentucky where Toyota has extensive operations as part of an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into anti-competitive conduct in the automotive parts industry. Continue reading →

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Asian Auto Lending Discrimination in Los Angeles?

Posted on 9 September 2013 by Ken Zino

It is common practice for banks and other lenders to set a base interest rate or so-called “buy rate” and then for the auto dealership to “mark up” the interest rate to the final rate the customer pays on the loan for the car. The complaint alleges that Union Auto Sales charged higher interest rate markups to non-Asian customers from at least 2004 to 2006, which constitutes lending discrimination. Continue reading →

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Big West Oil Fined $18 Million for Clean Air Act Violations

Posted on 23 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Big West Oil agreed to pay a $175,000 penalty and to spend $18 million to install emission controls at its refinery in North Salt Lake, Utah, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. Big West Oil will also invest $253,000 to improve the monitoring and management of potential releases of hydrofluoric acid at the facility. Continue reading →

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DOJ Antitrust Suit Opposes American – US Airways Merger

Posted on 19 August 2013 by Ken Zino

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit opposing the proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways and American Airlines. DOJ said that the merger would result in world’s largest airline, and would “substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout the United States and result in passengers paying higher airfares and receiving less service.” Continue reading →

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JPMorgan Chase Employees Charged With Financial Fraud

Posted on 14 August 2013 by Ken Zino

“Our financial system has been hurt in recent years not just by risky bets gone bad, but also, in some cases, by criminal wrongdoing,” opined Attorney General Holder. Critics maintain Holder has done little to prosecute financial fraud at the ratings agencies and on Wall Street that led to the collapse of the U.S. economy, cut American wealth in half, and created the highest rates of unemployment since the Great Depression that is still hurting the American middle class. Continue reading →

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