IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
ANDREAS HAURI,
Defendant.
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Criminal No. 3 00 CR-144R
Filed: April 6, 2000
Violations: 15 U.S.C. § 1
Judge: Jerry Buchmeyer
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INFORMATION
The United States of America, acting through its attorneys, charges:
I
DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFENSE
1. Andreas Hauri is made a defendant on the charge stated below.
2. Beginning in part at least as early as January 1990 and continuing in part
until
February 1999, the exact dates being unknown to the United States, the defendant's
corporate
employer, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. ("Roche"), and co-conspirators entered into and
participated in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by
fixing the
price and allocating the volume of certain vitamins manufactured by the defendant's
corporate
employer and its co-conspirators and sold by them in the United States and elsewhere,
and to
allocate customers for vitamin premixes sold in the United States. The combination and
conspiracy engaged in by the defendant and co-conspirators was in unreasonable
restraint of
interstate and foreign trade and commerce in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act
(15 U.S.C.
§ 1). The defendant joined and participated in the charged conspiracy from at least as
early as
January 1990 until at least February 1999.
3. The charged combination and conspiracy:
- consisted of a continuing agreement, understanding, and concert of action
among the defendant and co-conspirators regarding certain vitamins
manufactured by corporate conspirators and sold by them in the United
States and elsewhere, the substantial terms of which were to:
- fix, increase, and maintain prices and to coordinate price increases
for the sale of such vitamins in the United States and elsewhere;
- allocate among the corporate conspirators the volume of sales and
market shares of such vitamins in the United States and elsewhere;
and
- allocate among corporate conspirators all or part of certain
contracts to supply vitamin premixes to various customers located
throughout the United States and to refrain from submitting bids, or
to submit collusive, non-competitive and rigged bids, therefor;
- involved a changing group of conspirators and affected a changing group of
vitamins at various points in time during the period covered by this
Information, its scope adjusting over time to themanufacturers producing
certain vitamins and participating in the combination and conspiracy; and
- affected at least the following vitamins for the indicated time periods during
the combination and conspiracy charged in this Information:
- vitamins A and E sold in the United States and elsewhere, from
January 1990 into February 1999;
- vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) sold in the United States and elsewhere,
from January 1991 into at least Fall 1995;
- vitamin B5 (CalPan) sold in the United States and elsewhere, from
January 1991 into at least December 1998;
- vitamin C sold in the United States and elsewhere, from January
1991 into at least the late Fall 1995;
- beta carotene sold in the United States and elsewhere, from January
1991 into at least December 1998; and
- vitamin premixes sold to customers located throughout the United
States, from January 1991 into at least December 1997.
4. For the purpose of forming and carrying out the charged combination and
conspiracy, the defendant and co-conspirators did those things that they combined and
conspired to do including, among other things:
Vitamins
- participating in meetings and conversations in the United States and
elsewhere to discuss the prices and volumes of vitamins A and E, vitamin
B2, vitamin B5, vitamin C, and beta carotene sold in the United States and
elsewhere;
- agreeing, during such meetings and conversations regarding such vitamins,
to fix, increase, and maintain prices at certain levels in the United States
and elsewhere;
- agreeing, during such meetings and conversations regarding such vitamins,
to allocate among the corporate conspirators the approximate volume of
such vitamins to be sold by them in the United States and elsewhere;
- exchanging sales and customer information for the purpose of monitoring
and enforcing adherence to the above-described agreements;
- issuing price announcements and price quotations in accordance with the
above-described agreements;
- selling such vitamins at the agreed-upon prices and in accordance with the
agreed-upon sales volume allocations in the United States and elsewhere;
Vitamin Premixes
- participating in meetings and conversations in the United States and
elsewhere to discuss the submission of prospective bids for contracts to
supply vitamin premixes to various customers located throughout the United
States;
- agreeing, during such meetings and conversations, which corporate
conspirator would be designated the low bidder for
particular contracts to supply vitamin premixes to various customers
located throughout the United States;
- agreeing, during such meetings and conversations, on the prices to be
submitted by the designated low bidders for particular contracts to supply
vitamin premixes to various customers throughout the United States;
- refraining from bidding, or submitting intentionally high, complementary
and non-competitive bids, for particular contracts to supply vitamin
premixes to various customers throughout the United States; and
- selling vitamin premixes to various customers throughout the United States
at rigged and non-competitive prices.
II
BACKGROUND
5. Vitamins are organic compounds required in the diet of humans and
animals for
normal growth and maintenance of life. Vitamins are essential sources of certain
coenzymes
necessary for metabolism, the biochemical processes that support life. All known
vitamins have
been synthesized chemically, and various such synthesized vitamins are manufactured
and sold by
Roche and its corporate co-conspirators.
6. Vitamins are necessary for the normal and healthy growth and development
of both
humans and animals. Large quantities of vitamins A and E, vitamin B2, vitamin B5,
vitamin C, and
beta carotene are sold to customers in the human food, pharmaceutical, and animal
feed industries.
Vitamin premixes are a blend of several vitamins and other products in either dry or
spray-on
applications. Formulated and sold as additives, these vitamin premix applications are
used to
enrich human food and animal feed products.
III
DEFENDANT AND CO-CONSPIRATORS
7. During the period covered by this Information, Andreas Hauri was
Director of Worldwide Marketing of the Fine Chemical and Vitamin Division of Roche, a
corporation organized and existing under the laws of Switzerland, with its principal
place of
business in Basel, Switzerland. Roche is engaged in the manufacture and sale of
vitamins and
vitamin premixes in the United States and elsewhere.
8. Various corporations and individuals not made defendants herein
participated as
co-conspirators in the offense charged herein and performed acts and made
statements in
furtherance thereof.
9. Wherever in this Information reference is made to any act, deed, or transaction
of a
corporation, the allegation means that the corporation engaged in the act, deed, or
transaction by or
through its officers, directors, agents, employees, or representatives while they were
actively
engaged in the management, direction, control, or transaction of its business or affairs.
IV
TRADE AND COMMERCE
10. During the period covered by this Information, the defendant and
co-conspirators
sold and distributed a substantial quantity of vitamins and vitamin premixes subject to
the charged
conspiracy in a continuous and uninterrupted flow of interstate and foreign trade and
commerce to
customers located in states or countries other than the states or countries in which the
vitamins and
vitamin premixes were produced.
11. During the period covered by this Information, the activities of the defendant
and
co-conspirators that are the subject of this Information were within the flow of, and
substantially
affected, interstate and foreign trade and commerce.
V
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
12. The combination and conspiracy charged in this Information was carried out,
in part,
within the Northern District of Texas within the five years preceding the filing of this
Information.
ALL IN VIOLATION OF TITLE 15, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1.
_______________/s/________________
JOEL I. KLEIN
Assistant Attorney General
_______________/s/________________
JAMES M. GRIFFIN
Deputy Assistant Attorney General
_______________/s/________________
SCOTT D. HAMMOND
Director of Criminal Enforcement
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
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_______________/s/________________
ALAN A. PASON
Chief, Dallas Office
_______________/s/________________
GREGORY S. GLOFF
MITCHELL R. CHITWOOD
Attorneys
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Dallas Field Office
Thanksgiving Tower
1601 Elm Street, Suite 4950
Dallas, Texas 75201-4717
Tel.: (214) 880-9401
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