DETROIT—The former executive managing director of a Japanese auto parts manufacturer has been indicted in Detroit federal district court for alleged conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice said.
A federal grand jury in Detroit returned a one-count indictment May 14 against Michitaka Sakuma, a former member of the Board of Directors of T-RAD Co. Ltd. as well as its executive managing director.
According to the indictment, Sakuma conspired to rig bids, allocate supply and fix prices for radiators sold to Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp. and some of their subsidiaries in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Sakuma's role in the alleged conspiracy began at least as early as October 2003 and continued at least until February 2010, the indictment said.
Sakuma faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. In December 2014, Kosei Tamura, former general manager at T-RAD, pleaded guilty of participating in the price fixing conspiracy. Tamura was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.
With Sakuma's indictment, a total of 53 former or current auto parts executives have been charged in the government's ongoing investigation of price fixing in the auto parts industry, according to the Antitrust Division.
Also, 35 companies have either pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty, and have paid a total of more than $2.5 billion in fines, it said.