Futoshi Higashida, Obstruction of Justice, Michigan 2023

A federal grand jury in Michigan has indicted former auto parts executive Futoshi Higashida and Mikio Katsumaru with conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation.

The indictment, filed in Detroit on September 25, 2012, charges Higashida and Katsumaru with conspiring to delete emails and electronic records and to destroy documents referring to communications with competitors.

According to the indictment, Higashida instructed another individual to ensure that no phone numbers or call records remained on his cellular telephone and that no data remained on his computer that would reflect competitor communications.

“Individuals will not escape prosecution by covering up or destroying evidence of their own or their company’s wrong-doing,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

A total of 65 individuals and 46 companies have been charged in the Antitrust Division’s investigations into the automotive parts industry.

Higashida is charged with conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation and attempted obstruction of justice. Katsumaru is charged with conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation.

Anyone with information about anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

Defendant: Futoshi Higashida
Criminal Charges: Conspiring to Obstruct a Federal Investigation, Attempted Obstruction of Justice
City and State: Novi, Michigan
Exact Date: June 2008 – September 2012
Sentence or Outcome: Currently Indicted, awaiting trial

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/auto-parts-industry-executives-indicted-obstruction-justice