WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a former sales executive at Hitachi Displays Ltd. on charges of conspiring to fix prices for LCD displays sold to computer maker Dell Inc.
The indictment Tuesday of Sakae Someya marks the eighth individual charged in a conspiracy that involved four companies cooperating to fix prices for liquid crystal display panels sold to Dell from 2001 to 2004, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Hitachi, based in Japan, has already agreed to plead guilty in the conspiracy and pay $31 million in fines. LCD makers LG Display Co., Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd., and Sharp Corp. have also pleaded guilty and paid fines.
A jury in San Francisco charged Someya with meeting unnamed coconspirators to set LCD prices, exchanging information on sales to help enforce the scheme and ordering subordinates to participate in the conspiracy, among other allegations.
The felony charges carry a maximum of $1 million in fines and a 10 year prison sentence, the Justice Department said.
