Idaho Businessmen Accused of Conspiring to Defraud U.S. Forest Service
Two Idaho business owners are accused of trying the defraud the U.S. Forest Service, by rigging contracts for equipment to fight wildfires.
Ike Tomlinson and Kris Bird are facing seven charges for the alleged scheme, which started in 2014 and ran until March of this year. The two were arrested after a court authorized federal wiretap investigation, where court documents say they talked about targeting competitors, and agreed to rig bids and allocate territories.
According to prosecutors the duo spoke frequently to coordinate their bids to the U.S. Forest Service for various firefighting equipment, with the goal of maximizing profits to their two companies and to “squeeze” and “drown” competitors.
The U.S. Forest Service runs a competitive bidding process to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently.
Tomlinson and Bird also allegedly accepted payment for trucks at “collusive and noncompetitive daily rates” and attempted to conceal the scheme.
The two are facing charges of conspiring to rig bids and allocate territories in violation of the Sherman Act, conspiring to commit wire fraud, and committing wire fraud.
The two defendants pleaded not guilty.
If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for the Sherman Act violation, as well as a maximum of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud violation. Fines can go up to $1 million for individuals and $100 million for corporations for Sherman Act violations.
The investigation was conducted DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF), the Antitrust Division San Francisco Office, the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.