The Justice Department announced that Japanese firm, CMET Inc., has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $100,000 criminal fine for conspiring to obstruct justice in connection with the settlement of a 2001 merger case. The government charged CMET and its co-conspirators with carrying out the conspiracy by, among other things:
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Concealing from the Department of Justice (DOJ) the full extent and nature of the contemplated business relationship between CMET and its co-conspirators and CMET's principal motivation for bidding on a technology license being offered under the terms of the consent decree in the merger case;
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Procuring CMET's bid for the technology license offered in the consent decree proceedings based on covert understandings between CMET and its co-conspirators concerning future business dealings and the settlement of a patent dispute which, if known to the DOJ, could have disqualified CMET's technology license bid;
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Altering the translations of documents which CMET submitted to DOJ in connection with its application to acquire the technology license; and
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Making misrepresentations, in writing and orally in meetings with representatives of the DOJ, concerning CMET's intent to vigorously compete in the United States if granted the technology license.
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