A federal jury in Oklahoma City convicted Sioux Erosion Control Inc. (Sioux), its part-owner and vice president, and another employee for participating in a five-year price-fixing conspiracy targeting over $100 million in publicly funded transportation construction contracts across Oklahoma.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Sioux, its part-owner and Vice President BG Dale Biscoe, and its employee Randall David Shelton conspired with their competitors in the erosion control industry to raise and maintain prices for products and services between September 2017 and April 2023. Erosion control products and services, including sod, are used to control runoff of soil or rock on highway construction and repair projects. In addition to conspiring to raise prices for sod, the defendants also agreed to allocate contracts across different areas of Oklahoma and rigged bids for projects by submitting intentionally high-priced bids or refusing to bid.
“Americans have a right to expect that taxpayer-funded contracts are awarded through fair and honest competition, not secret agreements among competitors,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “The prosecution of these criminals demonstrates the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting public funds, safeguarding the integrity of government procurement, and holding accountable those who put personal profit above the law.”
“For years, the defendants stole from taxpayers by rigging bids and raising prices on highway projects across Oklahoma,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Yesterday, an Oklahoma jury held the defendants accountable, finding them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This verdict underscores that, if you collude with your competitors to corrupt public procurement, the Antitrust Division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners will work tirelessly to bring you to justice.”
“This long-running scheme to fix prices and rig bids on highway construction projects drove up costs for American taxpayers while the defendants lined their pockets,” said Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue corporations that violate antitrust laws at the expense of the American public. This verdict highlights our commitment to combatting illegal collusion through the justice system.”
“Violations of the nation’s antitrust laws will be taken seriously, and those who attempt to circumvent federal bidding and contract regulations will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Harris of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s Southern Region. “Working alongside our partners at the FBI and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, we will continue to pursue those who cheat the system and ensure that public funds are used as intended – to support a safe, reliable, and cost‑effective transportation system that Americans depend on every day.”
During the investigation, a total of six individuals and one company – including Biscoe, Shelton, and Sioux – were charged for their participation in the scheme. Four other individuals – Stanley Mark Smith, Roy Henry Henrich, Ryan Ashley Sullivan, and James Travis Feazel – previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the charged conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.
Biscoe, Shelton, and Sioux were convicted by the federal jury of participating in a price-fixing conspiracy. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and FBI Oklahoma City Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Marc Hedrich and Matthew Grisier of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section and Senior Litigation Counsel Gary Bell are prosecuting the case.
The Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. To learn more about the PCSF, or to report information on bid rigging, price fixing, market allocation and other anticompetitive conduct related to government spending, go to www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force .