Jerry P. Watson, Sherman Act Violation, Illinois 2024

A Chicago-based commercial flooring contractor has pleaded guilty to violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and agreed to pay a $1.2 million criminal fine. Commercial Carpet Consultants Inc. and its former president, Jerry P. Watson, were charged with a long-running conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring products and services.

The conspiracy, which lasted from at least 2009 until at least June 22, 2017, involved the defendants agreeing with other companies and individuals to submit complementary bids so that the designated company would win the contract. This anticompetitive conduct had a significant impact on the commercial flooring market, suppressing competition and eliminating opportunities for other companies to compete fairly.

“The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners are committed to safeguarding competition in the American marketplace,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter. “These latest guilty pleas in the government’s investigation demonstrate our commitment to prosecuting anticompetitive conduct and holding companies and executives accountable.”

“There is no place for illegal price-fixing in the American marketplace,” said Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Field Division. “Anyone looking to profit by market manipulation should know that we won’t stop investigating unlawful collusion until justice is done.”

The charges against Commercial Carpet Consultants Inc. and Jerry P. Watson are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging, price fixing and other anticompetitive conduct in the commercial flooring industry, conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Chicago Field Division.

Commercial Carpet Consultants Inc. pleaded guilty to a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and agreed to pay a $1.2 million criminal fine. Jerry P. Watson also pleaded guilty and is the sixth individual to plead guilty in the investigation.

A violation of the Sherman Act carries a statutory maximum penalty of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. For individuals, violations of the Sherman Act carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

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