Bid Rigging Abigail Smith Assistant Attorney General 1

Bid Rigging Abigail Smith Assistant Attorney General 1

Bid Rigging Materials • Before you start taking notes… • Resources – Handout: Bid Rigging Quick Reference Sheet – U. S. Department of Justice Primer – www. justice. gov/atr/price-fixing-bid-rigging-and-market-allocation-schemes • Send an email to Abigail. Smith@coag. gov 2

Colorado Antitrust Enforcement • Enforce state and federal antitrust laws – Sherman Act & Clayton Act – Colorado Antitrust Act • Recover money on behalf of state agencies 3

How does antitrust affect you? • All attendees are competitors • Competitors can’t agree: • About the price • About whether to bid 4

What is bid rigging? Agreement to… • Take Turns Bidding on Properties • Competitors agree not to bid on properties • Suppress Bidding • Competitor agrees not to bid on a property • Competitor agrees to withdraw submitted bid 5

Warning Signs • Competitors meet before the auction • Competitors meet after the auction • Competitors speak during the auction 6

Warning Signs • Winning bidder does not return with certified funds • Unusual bidding patterns • Bidders who attend but don’t bid • Especially if they have conversations with other bidders • Unusual conduct or bid increments during bidding 7

Preventing Collusion • Periodically review historic bid results and look for bidding patterns or unusual trends • Train staff regarding bid rigging and warning signs 8

We need your help • When something just doesn’t seem right, please let the Attorney General know. • Don’t worry about raising a “false alarm” • We’ll work through the situation with you 9

“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble” • Any information that you provide is the first step in a careful and comprehensive review process • There may be a reasonable explanation for what you observed, and we may be able to explain it • We will only begin an investigation if we have a reasonable basis for doing so • We will only file a lawsuit after we have conducted an investigation that has uncovered substantial evidence of 10 an antitrust violation

“I can’t prove anything” • We don’t expect you to – that’s our job • We’re just asking you to keep your eyes and ears open for the things I’ve talked about, and contact us when something doesn’t seem right • We might have additional information that helps us start an investigation • Even if we don’t investigate, the information you provide helps us better understand the industry 11

Contact Information Abigail Smith Assistant Attorney General Consumer Protection Section Colorado Department of Law 1300 Broadway, Seventh Floor Denver, Colorado 80203 Abigail. Smith@coag. gov (720) 508 -6233 12