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Procurement Collusion Strike Force

Antitrust Division Seal

The Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) leads a coordinated national response to combat antitrust crimes and related schemes in government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government—Federal, state, and local. The PCSF is comprised of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, multiple U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Inspectors General for multiple Federal agencies.

Training: Strike Force attorneys and agents are available to provide training to other law enforcement agents, auditors, and procurement personnel to assist them in identifying and preventing collusion and fraud in the competitive bidding process.

Enforcement: If collusive conduct is discovered, the Strike Force stands ready to investigate and criminally prosecute the individuals and corporations seeking to unjustly profit from these tragedies.

Collusion and anticompetitive conduct that subvert the competitive bidding process include:

  • Bid rigging: Two or more firms agree to bid in such a way that a designated firm submits the winning bid.
  • Price fixing: Two or more competing sellers agree on what prices to charge, such as by agreeing that they will increase prices a certain amount or that they won't sell below a certain price.
  • Customer or market allocation: Two or more firms agree to split up customers, such as by geographic area, to reduce or eliminate competition.

These agreements are generally secret, and the participants defraud customers by holding themselves out as competitors despite their agreement not to compete. They harm consumers and taxpayers by causing them to pay more for products and services and by depriving them of other byproducts of true competition.

Related document: Preventing and Detecting Bid Rigging, Price Fixing, and Market Allocation in Post-Disaster Rebuilding Projects

As of June 2023
28K+
Agents and procurement officials trained
90+
Investigations opened
46
Guilty pleas and trial convictions
$50M+
Criminal fines and restitution

Reporting Possible Violations

The PCSF Tip Center receives and reviews complaints, concerns, and tips regarding individuals and/or organizations potentially engaged in antitrust crimes—such as price fixing, bid rigging, and related schemes—affecting government procurement, grant, and program funding.

If your antitrust concerns do not involve government procurement, grant, and/or program funding, please report your concern to the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center.

If you do not think your concerns involve the antitrust laws, you may want to visit the Department of Justice site for more information or send a message to the Department of Justice.

Please keep in mind that the Antitrust Division is prohibited from giving legal advice to private individuals.

How to Report Possible Violations

Reporting Procurement Collusion by Online Form

In this 5-page online form, you are asked to submit who was involved, what government contract, grant, or program was affected, and what happened. You may optionally choose to provide your name and contact information.

Report Procurement Collusion by Online Form
Reporting Procurement Collusion by Email or Mail

If you have information about a possible antitrust violation affecting government procurement, grant, and/or program funding, you may submit your concern by email, or by regular mail to:

Procurement Collusion Strike Force Tip Center
Antitrust Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530

When making a submission by email or mail, please use the following questions as a guide to describe your concern:

  1. Who Was Involved?

    What are the names of the companies and/or people involved in the suspected antitrust violation(s) affecting government procurement?

  2. What Government Contract, Grant, or Program Was Affected?

    What is the government contract, grant, or program affected by the suspected illegal conduct?

  3. What Happened?

    Can you describe the conduct you suspect violates the law, including:

    • What products and/or services are the subject of the government contract, grant, or program?

    • What suspected illegal conduct occurred (for example, bid rigging, price fixing, allocating a market or customers)?

    • When did it happen?

    • Where did it happen?

    • Who was involved and how?

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT

Our Confidentiality Policy and Privacy Policy apply to all complaints received by the Antitrust Division.

Report Procurement Collusion by Email

Training on Collusion for Inspectors General and Procurement Officials

The PCSF is committed to working with the Inspectors General of agencies receiving Federal funds, as well as government procurement officials, to train individuals at all levels of the funding process to better deter and detect antitrust crimes affecting government procurement, grant, and program funding.

  • Who needs to be trained?: Federal, state, and local agency procurement and grant officers, as well as agency auditors and investigators.
  • What is the focus of training?: Identifying the red flags of collusion.
  • What are the goals of training?:
    • Prevent collusion and related crimes in the process of awarding contracts and grants.
    • Identify and investigate possible collusion and related crimes relating to contracts or grants that have been awarded for potential criminal prosecution.

To schedule training or request more information, send an email to pcsf@usdoj.gov.

Resources

Podcast

Press Releases and Speeches

Director of the Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force Daniel Glad Delivers Remarks to the Seventh Annual White-Collar Criminal Forum at the University of Richmond Law School (September 14, 2023)

Subcontractor Sentenced to Pay Nearly $9 Million in a Criminal Fine and Restitution for Rigging Bids and Defrauding the U.S. Military (September 12, 2023)

Owners of Military Contracting Companies Sentenced for Bid Rigging in Texas (August 23, 2023)

Former Public Official and California Contractor Sentenced for Bid Rigging and Bribery (April 24, 2023)

Construction Company Owner Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $1 Million in Restitution for Rigging Bids and Bribing a Public Official (April 17, 2023)

Former Construction Company President Sentenced for Attempting to Monopolize Highway Construction, Repair Contracts (March 29, 2023)

Military Contractors Convicted for $7 Million Procurement Fraud Scheme (March 29, 2023)

Two Additional Municipal Employees Plead Guilty to Fraud Conspiracy (February 27, 2023)

Insulation Contracting Firm Co-Owner Sentenced to Fifteen Months in Prison and Ordered to Pay more than $1 Million to Victims of Bid Rigging and Fraud (February 14, 2023)

Municipal Employee Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Conspiracy (February 2, 2023)

Construction Company Owner Sentenced for Fraud in Securing Millions of Dollars in Contracts Intended for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (January 18, 2023)

Military Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging (January 17, 2023)

Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force Announces Four New National Law Enforcement Partners as it Enters its Fourth Year (November 15, 2022)

Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bribery (November 14, 2022)

Insulation Contracting Firm Sentenced for Rigging Bids (November 7, 2022)

Executive Pleads Guilty to Criminal Attempted Monopolization (October 31, 2022)

Former Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bribery (October 3, 2022)

Insulation Contracting Firm and Co-Owner Sentenced for Rigging Bids and Fraud (September 30, 2022)

Owner of Commercial Flooring Contractor Pleads Guilty to Participating in Kickback Scheme to Defraud a U.S. Army Facility (September 22, 2022)

Former Engineering Executive Sentenced for Rigging Bids and Defrauding North Carolina Department of Transportation (September 8, 2022)

Two Companies Plead Guilty in Bid Rigging Scheme for Insulation Contracts (August 4, 2022)

Military Contractor Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids for Public Contracts in Texas and Michigan (July 14, 2022)

Construction Company Owner Convicted of Fraud in Securing More Than $240 Million in Contracts Intended for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (June 30, 2022)

Military Contractors Indicted for $7 Million Procurement Fraud Scheme (June 23, 2022)

Military Contractor Indicted for $15 Million Bid-Rigging Scheme and Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (May 20, 2022)

Three Florida Men Indicted for Rigging Bids and Defrauding the U.S. Military (April 12, 2022)

Former Caltrans Contract Manager Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Bribery (April 11, 2022)

Inland Empire Man Agrees to Plead Guilty in Bid-Rigging Scheme to Obtain Contracts to Provide Food to Federal Prison Facilities (April 5, 2022)

Contractors Indicted for Rigging Bids on Subcontract Work and Defrauding U.S. Military Bases in South Korea (March 17, 2022)

Minnesota Concrete Company and its CEO Indicted for Rigging Bids for Public Contracts (March 10, 2022)

Former Engineering Executive Convicted of Rigging Bids and Defrauding North Carolina Department of Transportation (February 1, 2022)

Former Security Services Executives Plead Guilty to Rigging Bids for Department of Defense Security Contracts (October 18, 2021)

Director of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force Daniel Glad Delivers Remarks at ABA Section of Public Contract Law’s Public Procurement Symposium: The Procurement Collusion Strike Force: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Combating a Whole-of-Government Problem (October 13, 2021)

Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Issue Joint Statement to Preserve Competition in Post-Hurricane Relief Efforts (September 14, 2021)

Antitrust Division Observes National Whistleblower Appreciation Day (July 30, 2021)

Belgian Security Services Company and Three Former Executives Indicted for Bid Rigging on U.S. Department of Defense Contracts (June 30, 2021)

Belgian Security Services Firm Agrees to Plead Guilty to Criminal Antitrust Conspiracy Affecting Department of Defense Procurement (June 25, 2021)

Justice Department’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force Announces Eleven New National Partners (November 12, 2020)

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Delivers Remarks on the Future of Antitrust (November 12, 2020)

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Presents Procurement Collusion Strike Force to the International Competition Community (June 16, 2020)

Justice Department Cautions Business Community Against Violating Antitrust Laws in the Manufacturing, Distribution, and Sale of Public Health Products (March 9, 2020)

Justice Department Announces Procurement Collusion Strike Force: a Coordinated National Response to Combat Antitrust Crimes and Related Schemes in Government Procurement, Grant and Program Funding (November 5, 2019)

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Delivers Remarks at the Procurement Collusion Strike Force Press Conference (November 5, 2019)

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen Delivers Remarks at the Procurement Collusion Strike Force Press Conference (November 5, 2019)

Blog Post

Related Internet Sites

Contacts

Daniel W. Glad, Director
Sandra B. Talbott, Assistant Director

Mailing Address:
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Room 3322
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Phone: 202-514-2401
Fax: 202-616-2645