An investigation into bid-rigging in the insulation contracting industry in the US state of Connecticut saw its seventh and final defendant jailed for 15 months on Friday.
Michael S. Flynn was sentenced on 10 February to the prison term and a restitution payment of $1.06m for taking part in schemes targeting contracts for insulating pipes and ducts on construction projects for universities, hospitals, and a city government.
Victims of the scheme included the University of Connecticut, the City of Hartford, PepsiCo. Inc., Stamford Hospital, and Yale University, according to public court filings.
Flynn entered a guilty plea on 1 May 2019. Court documents describe him as 50% owner of an insulation contracting business.
According to prosecutors, the conspiracy ran for nearly seven years between 2011 and 2018.
Six other individuals and companies have pled guilty to criminal conduct arising out of this investigation.
“This defendant’s collusive conduct victimised hospitals, universities and businesses throughout Connecticut,” said US Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut. “This prison term and the penalties imposed on all individuals and companies involved in this scheme should deter others from engaging in such criminal, anti-competitive behaviour.”
The investigation was conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, the FBI’s New Haven Division, and the DCIS’s New Haven Resident Agency.
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the PCSF, 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.
