Axion Specialty Contracting LLC, Bid Rigging, Connecticut 2022

Grimy Times has learned that Axion Specialty Contracting LLC, an insulation contracting firm from Connecticut, has been sentenced to pay a $1,001,989 criminal fine and $313,121 in restitution for its participation in a long-running bid-rigging scheme targeting public and private entities in the state.

According to a guilty plea entered on August 3, the defendant conspired with other insulation contractors to rig bids on contracts for installing insulation around pipes and ducts on construction projects at universities, hospitals, and other public and private entities in Connecticut. The conspiracy ran for over five years, beginning as early as October 2012 and continuing until as late as March 2018.

Six other individuals and companies have pleaded guilty to criminal conduct arising out of this investigation, while three individuals and one company await sentencing. Axion Specialty Contracting LLC was sentenced on November 4 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of conduct that subverts the competitive process and targets public and private institutions,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division. “We will pursue and hold accountable companies that subvert the competitive process for personal gain and corporate greed.”

“Through this prosecution, individuals and businesses that illegally colluded with competitors to improve their companies’ bottom lines are being held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut. “I commend the FBI and DCIS for investigating this scheme that victimized hospitals, universities, and businesses throughout Connecticut.”

Axion Specialty Contracting LLC previously pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The company was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $400.

The Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, the FBI New Haven Office, and the DCIS’s New Haven Resident Agency investigated this case.

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