A federal grand jury in San Francisco recently returned an indictment against the current president of HannStar Display Corp. for his participation in a global conspiracy to fix prices of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, according to the Department of Justice.

The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, charged that Ding Hui Joe, aka David Joe, conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels. Joe, a resident of Taiwan, is charged with participating in the conspiracy from on or about Sept. 14, 2001, until on or about Jan. 31, 2006.

As a result of this investigation, more than $890 million in criminal fines have been obtained to date. Including this indictment, 22 executives and eight companies have been charged in the department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the LCD industry.

As reported, a number of U.S. states have separately filed antitrust actions against LCD makers over alleged price fixing.

The defendants named in the various suits are AU Optronics Corporation; AU Optronics Corporation America, Inc.; Chi Mei Innolux Corporation; Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. USA, Inc.; CMO Japan Co., Ltd.; Epson Imaging Devices Corp.; Epson Electronics America, Inc.; Hitachi, Ltd.; Hitachi Displays, Ltd.; Hitachi America, Ltd.; Hitachi Electronic Devices (USA), Inc.; LG Display Co., Ltd.; LG Display America, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.; Samsung Electronics America, Inc.; Sharp Corporation; Sharp Electronics Corporation; Toshiba Corporation; Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.; Toshiba Mobile Display Co., Ltd.; and Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.

In November of 2008, three leading electronics manufacturers–LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd.–agreed to plead guilty and paid a total of $585 million in criminal fines for their roles in conspiracies to fix prices in the sale of panels, the Department of Justice announced.

In March of 2009, Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi Displays Ltd. agreed to plead guilty and paid a $31 million fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of panels sold to Dell Inc., the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

In August of 2009, Japanese electronics manufacturer Epson Imaging Devices Corp. (Epson) agreed to plead guilty and paid a $26 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of TFT-LCDs sold to Motorola Inc., the Department of Justice announced.

In January of 2010, executives from LG Display and Chunghwa agreed to plead guilty and serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of panels, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chang Suk “C.S.” Chung, a Korean LG executive, conspired with unnamed employees from other panel makers to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels from on or about Sept. 21, 2001, to on or about June 1, 2006.

According to a separate one-count felony charge, also filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chieng-Hon “Frank” Lin, a Taiwanese former executive from Chunghwa, and Chih-Chun “C.C.” Liu and Hsueh-Lung “Brian” Lee were charged with participating in the same conspiracy at various times during the period from Sept. 14, 2001, to on or about Dec. 1, 2006. Under the plea agreements, the In Aprilexecutives agreed to serve a term of imprisonment, pay a criminal fine and assist the government in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation. 

In January of 2010, an executive from Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (Chi Mei)  agreed to plead guilty and serve 14 months in a U.S. jail for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels, and a second executive pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his role in the same conspiracy, the Department of
Justice announced.

According to separate one-count felony charges filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Jau-Yang “J.Y.” Ho and Chu-Hsiang “James” Yang conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels.

Ho, a resident of Taiwan and the former president of Chi Mei, participated in the conspiracy from on or about Sept. 14, 2001, to on or about Dec. 1, 2006. Yang, a resident of Taiwan and the former director of sales for Chi Mei, participated in the conspiracy from April 1, 2004, to on or about Dec. 1, 2006. Under his plea agreement, Ho agreed to serve 14 months in jail, to pay a $50,000 criminal fine and to assist the department in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

In June of 2010, a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned a superseding indictment against the largest Taiwanese thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display panels (TFT-LCD) producer and seller, its Houston-based American subsidiary, and six of its executives for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels, the Department of Justice announced.

The indictment, returned in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, charged that AU Optronics, participated in a conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide from Sept. 14, 2001, to Dec. 1, 2006. AU Optronics, its American subsidiary, AU Optronics Corp. America, and six AU Optronics’ executives, each a resident of Taiwan, participated in the conspiracy at various times during the alleged conspiracy time period.

In June, a Taiwan thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel producer and seller agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $30 million criminal fine for its role in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels, the Department of Justice announced.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, HannStar, based in Taipei, Taiwan, participated in a conspiracy from Sept. 14, 2001, to Jan. 31, 2006, to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide. According to the plea agreement, HannStar agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

In July of 2010, a former executive from Chi Mei (Chi Mei) agreed to plead guilty and to serve jail in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the price of thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, the Department of Justice announced.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Wen-Hung “Amigo” Huang conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels. Huang, a resident of Taiwan and the former director of sales of Chi Mei, participated in the conspiracy from on or about Sept. 14, 2001, to on or about Dec.1, 2006. Huang, who was charged, agreed to serve 9 months in jail, to pay a $25,000 criminal fine and to assist the department in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

In August of 2010, another former executive from Chi Mei Optoelectronics agreed to plead guilty and to serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the price of thin-film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, the Department of Justice announced.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco,Chen-Lung Kuo conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels. Kuo, a resident of Taiwan and the former vice president of sales of Chi Mei, participated in the conspiracy from as early as April 2004, to on or about Dec.1, 2006. Under his plea agreement, Kuo has agreed to serve nine months in jail, to pay a $35,000 criminal fine and to assist the department in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

In October of 2010, a federal grand jury in San Francisco returned an indictment against a former executive of a Taiwan thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) producer for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels, the Department of Justice announced.

The indictment, returned in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, charged that Hsin-Tsung Wang participated in a conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide.Wang, a resident of Taiwan and the former vice president of sales and marketing of Chi Mei Optoelectronics, was charged with participating in the conspiracy from at least as early as Sept. 14, 2001, and continuing at least until Dec. 1, 2006.

Also in October, a former executive from HannStar agreed to plead guilty and to serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the price of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, the Department of Justice announced.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Jui Hung “Sam” Wu conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels. Wu, a resident of Taiwan and the former executive director of global sales and marketing of HannStar, a Taiwan-based corporation, participated in the conspiracy from as early as Sept. 21, 2001, until on or about Jan. 31, 2006.

Under his plea agreement, Wu has agreed to serve seven months in jail, to pay a $20,000 criminal fine and to assist the department in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

In January of 2010, executives from LG Display and Chunghwa agreed to plead guilty and serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of panels, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chang Suk “C.S.” Chung, a Korean LG executive, conspired with unnamed employees from other panel makers to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels from on or about Sept. 21, 2001, to on or about June 1, 2006.

According to a separate one-count felony charge, also filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chieng-Hon “Frank” Lin, a Taiwanese former executive from Chunghwa, and Chih-Chun “C.C.” Liu and Hsueh-Lung “Brian” Lee were charged with participating in the same conspiracy at various times during the period from Sept. 14, 2001, to on or about Dec. 1, 2006. Under the plea agreements, the executives agreed to serve a term of imprisonment, pay a criminal fine and assist the government in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

By: DocMemory
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