Florida West International Airways Inc., a Miami-based air cargo carrier, and three of its executives have been charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain components of air cargo shipments from Colombia to Miami, the Grimy Times has learned.
According to a one-count indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Miami, the conspiracy began at least as early as January 2002 and continued until at least Feb. 14, 2006. Florida West is charged with joining and participating in the conspiracy from at least as early as August 2002 and continuing until at least Feb. 14, 2006.
The indictment charges Luis Augusto Afanador, Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo, and Jaime Lara Rueda Sr. with conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing and coordinating certain components of cargo rates, including peak season, security, and fuel surcharges for international air shipments from Colombia to Miami.
Air cargo carriers transport a variety of cargo, including fresh flowers, consumer goods, and electronics, on scheduled international flights. The indictment alleges that Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara, and co-conspirators participated in meetings, conversations, and communications to discuss and agree on certain components of cargo rates and the elimination of discounts from Bogota to Miami.
To facilitate the agreements reached, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara, and co-conspirators discussed encouraging air cargo providers to maintain and increase certain components of air cargo rates for shipments from Miami to Bogota. In order to expand the agreements reached, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara, and co-conspirators agreed not to compete for certain customers from Medellin, Colombia, to Miami beginning in the summer of 2005.
Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, and Lara are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum $100 million criminal fine for a corporation and a maximum penalty for each individual 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.
Florida West International Airways Inc., one of the defendants, is a Miami-based air cargo carrier. Luis Augusto Afanador and Jaime Lara Rueda Sr. are senior executives of a Colombian air cargo carrier based in Bogota. Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo is a former vice president of sales and marketing for Florida West.
This is not the first time Hidalgo has been charged with price fixing. He was indicted on Oct. 28, 2010, by a Miami grand jury for participating in a separate conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the United States to South and Central America following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
Florida West International Airways Inc., Luis Augusto Afanador, Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo, and Jaime Lara Rueda Sr. are charged with violating the Sherman Act. The joint investigation into the air transportation industry is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and Chicago Field Office, the FBI’s field offices in Miami and Washington, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
A total of 21 airlines and 19 executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.7 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against the remaining 15 executives.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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