U.S. Department
of Justice
Indictment
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JACKLIN CHOU LEM (CA Bar No. 255293) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
The Grand Jury charges: I. 1. HOMY HONG-MING HSU ("defendant") is made a defendant on the charge stated below: 2. From in or about November 2001 until in or about September 2008, the defendant and coconspirators entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy in the United States and elsewhere to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of aftermarket auto lights. The combination and conspiracy engaged in by the defendant and his coconspirators was an unreasonable restraint of interstate and foreign trade and commerce in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. ｧ 1). The defendant knowingly joined and participated in the charged conspiracy from as early as November 2001 until in or about September 2008. 3. The charged combination and conspiracy consisted of a continuing agreement, understanding, and concert of action among the defendant and coconspirators, the substantial terms of which were to agree to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights. 4. For the purpose of forming and carrying out the charged combination and conspiracy, the defendant and coconspirators did those things that they combined and conspired to do, including, among other things: (a) participated in meetings, conversations, and communications in Taiwan, the United States, and elsewhere to discuss the prices of aftermarket auto lights; (b) agreed, during those meetings, conversations, and communications, to charge prices of aftermarket auto lights at certain predetermined levels; (c) issued price announcements and price lists in accordance with the agreements reached; (d) collected and exchanged information on prices and sales of aftermarket auto lights for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices; (e) authorized, ordered, and consented to the participation of subordinate employees in the conspiracy; and (f) took steps to conceal the conspiracy and conspiratorial contacts, conversations, and communications through various means. II. 5. During the time period covered by this Indictment, defendant HOMY HONG-MING HSU was Vice Chairman of Company A, an entity organized and existing under the laws of Taiwan. During the time period covered by this Indictment, Company A was a manufacturer of aftermarket auto lights sold in the United States and elsewhere. 6. Various corporations and individuals, not made defendants in this Indictment, participated as coconspirators in the offense charged in this Indictment and performed acts and made statements in furtherance of it. 7. Whenever in this Indictment reference is made to any act, deed, or transaction of any corporation, the allegation means that the corporation engaged in the act, deed, or transaction by or through its officers, directors, employees, agents, or other representatives while they were actively engaged in the management, direction, control, or transaction of its business or affairs. III. 8. Aftermarket auto lights are lights incorporated into an automobile after its original sale, usually as repairs following a collision, but also as accessories and upgrades. Lighting components include items such as headlights, taillights, fog lights, turn signals, brake signals, and reflectors. 9. During the period covered by this Indictment, Company A and coconspirators sold and distributed aftermarket auto lights 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 Company A and coconspirators produced aftermarket auto lights. 10. During the period covered by this Indictment, the business activities of the defendant and coconspirators that are the subject of this Indictment were within the flow of, and substantially affected, interstate and foreign trade and commerce. IV. 11. The combination and conspiracy charged in this Indictment was carried out, in part, in the Northern District of California, within the five years preceding the filing of this Indictment. ALL IN VIOLATION OF TITLE 15, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1.
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