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Allegations that the client violated the Sherman Antitrust Act can be brought in civil or criminal court pursuant to section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. See, 15 U.S.C. §1, which reads:
Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal. Every person who shall make any contract or engage in any combination or conspiracy hereby declared to be illegal shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court.
Unlike most "common law" crimes (murder, burglary, rape, assault and battery, etc), there is generally some evidence that the client was involved in the activity charged as an antitrust violation. The question for the jury, therefore, is "was the activity a crime?" Generally speaking, there is no necessity for the government to prove "criminal intent" in antitrust cases; however, there is always some mens rea (intent) associated with any criminal jury trial -- which might influence punishment even if there was a conviction.
Some charges routinely associated with Antitrust or Sherman Antitrust Act violations include:Bid-rigging & complementary bigging agreements
Conspiracy to violate anti-competitive laws.
Fraud involving suppression of competition or
a conspiracy to suppress competition; mail fraud, wire fraud, money
laundering, false statements to government agencies, etc.
Intellectual property agreements
Licensing agreements
Market allocation agreements
Mergers
Price-fixing agreements (horizontal or vertical price-fixing)
Racketeering (RICO)
Minimal Punishment for Federal
Antitrust
Price Fixing Charge.
Client accused of orchestrating gasoline price-fixing scheme with volume of
commerce in excess of $5 million. Jury returned guilty verdict for Sherman
Antitrust Act price-fixing violation, but judge ordered only probation (with
no restitution) based on evidence developed at trial and in mitigation.*
See other
white-collar results.
*Note:
Results
may vary because each case must be decided
on its own unique facts and the law applicable to that given case. You
should not infer the likelihood of success on a given case based on past
cases handled by this firm.
Experienced lawyers
Bob Wyatt is one of only 13 Oklahoma lawyers listed under the category "Criminal Defense: White Collar" in The Best Lawyers in America ® 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 (Copyright Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). Bob Wyatt is now licensed to practice in the federal courts in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas. That includes the E.D. federal courts in Beaumont, Lufkin, Marshall, Plano, Sherman, Texarkana, and Tyler areas and the N.D. federal courts in Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls areas. He is eligible for admission in Texas state courts and other federal courts as needed.
Office Locations
The Wyatt Law Office is located in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which is situated in the middle of the state. For federal criminal matters outside of Oklahoma, we have easy connections to most major cities and both coasts from the Will Rogers World Airport.
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Mr. Wyatt is licensed in all of Oklahoma's federal courts including U.S. District Court Western District of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), U.S. District Court Northern District of Oklahoma (Tulsa), U.S. District Court Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee), U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas.
Some of the cities served by the Wyatt Law Office include:
Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Muskogee, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, Sherman, Wichita Falls, Amarillo, Lubbock, Tyler, Texarkana. For other cities serviced, see Our Offices at the contact us page.