WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division issued the following news release:
A South Carolina manager of a bovine artificial insemination firm pleaded guilty today to rigging bids for the purchase of cattle used either for the direct production of semen or for the development of animals for future semen production.
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, Herbert D. Lutz, 56, of Chester, SC pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids between at least as early as October 2018 and at least as late as May 2024. In advance of cattle auctions, Lutz and his co-conspirators agreed which company would win the bid. During the sales, the agreed-upon losing firm would either not bi...