A federal antitrust probe has snagged a handful of Iowa ready-mix firms in a price-fixing scheme spanning more than three years.
Great Lakes Concrete Inc., Spencer, violated federal antitrust law, which carries up to $100 million in fines, for bid-rigging and price-fixing ready-mix sales in northern Iowa, the U.S. Justice Dept. says. The firm pleaded guilty to one felony count on Aug. 24. The company plea follows a similar plea last year by its president, Kent R. Stewart. He was sentenced in February to pay $83,427 in fines and serve a year in prison for participating in an overpricing scheme, from 2008 to 2009, in exchange for lucrative payouts.