U.S. Department
of Justice
Information
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA FRESNO DIVISION
The United States of America, through its attorneys, charges: DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFENSE 1. DUANE MAYNARD is hereby charged and made a defendant herein. 2. The E-Rate program is a federal program administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company ("USAC") under direction of the Federal Communications Commission. Telecommunications companies in the United States charge their customers fees that are ultimately disbursed by the USAC for, among other things, subsidies for the purchase of telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections for schools. Subject to its regulations, the E-Rate program will pay for up to 90% of a school's expenditures for eligible equipment and services. 3. Beginning on or about February 18, 1999 and continuing at least until January 17, 2002, the exact dates being unknown to the United States, the defendant and co-conspirators entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and restrain competition for an E-Rate-subsidized project to provide, among other things, goods and services related to telecommunications, Internet access, and internal connections at the West Fresno Elementary School District ("the West Fresno Elementary School District E-Rate Project") in Fresno, California, in unreasonable restraint of interstate trade and commerce, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, Title 15, United States Code, Section 1. DEFENDANT AND CO-CONSPIRATORS 4. During the period covered by this Information, DUANE MAYNARD was a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of California. He held the title of Senior Estimator for his employer and represented his employer on the West Fresno Elementary School District E-Rate Project. 5. Various individuals and corporations, not made defendants in this Information, participated as co-conspirators in the offense charged and performed acts and made statements in furtherance of it. THE CONSPIRACY 6. The charged combination and conspiracy consisted of an agreement, understanding, and concert of action among the conspirators, the substantial terms of which were to suppress bidding for the West Fresno Elementary School District E-Rate Project and to allocate among conspirators responsibility for the supply of goods and services for the West Fresno Elementary School District E-Rate Project. 7. For the common purpose of forming and carrying out the charged combination and conspiracy, the defendant and co-conspirators together performed the following acts, among others:
TRADE AND COMMERCE 8. Equipment provided as part of the West Fresno Elementary School District E-Rate Project was shipped across state lines. The payments from the USAC were sent from banks outside the State of California to a bank inside the State of California. Thus, the West Fresno Elementary School District E-Rate Project was conducted within the flow of, and substantially affected, interstate trade and commerce. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 9. The aforesaid combination and conspiracy was formed and carried out, in part, within the Eastern District of California within the five years preceding the filing of this Information. IN VIOLATION OF TITLE 15, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1. DATED this ______ day of July, 2003.
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