Anthony B. Joachim, Bid Rigging and Mail Fraud, California 2011

Stockton, CA – In a shocking turn of events, Anthony B. Joachim, a real estate investor from Stockton, California, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County.

According to court documents, Joachim conspired with others not to bid against one another and to instead designate a winning bidder to obtain selected properties at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County. He was also charged with conspiring to use the mail to carry out a scheme to fraudulently acquire title to selected San Joaquin County properties sold at public auctions.

The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracies was to suppress and restrain competition and to conceal payoffs in order to obtain selected real estate offered at San Joaquin County public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices. When real estate properties are sold at these auctions, the proceeds are used to pay off the mortgage and other debt attached to the property, with remaining proceeds, if any, paid to the homeowner.

Joachim pleaded guilty to bid rigging, a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

“Today’s plea is the 11th in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation of bid rigging and fraud involving real estate foreclosure auctions in the Eastern District of California,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. “The division has uncovered similar schemes across the country and continues to prosecute those who profit by undermining competition at real estate foreclosure auctions.”

Joachim is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.

Anthony B. Joachim, 41, of Stockton, Calif., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bid rigging and conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento on May 8, 2013.

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