A federal district court in Nevada sentenced Eduardo “Eddie” Lopez of Las Vegas to 40 months in custody and $550,000 in criminal fines. In addition, Lopez must pay $2.4 million in criminal restitution to the defrauded purchaser of his home healthcare company. Lopez was also ordered to forfeit $10.4 million from the fraudulent sale of his home healthcare company.
The sentence follows Lopez’s conviction in April for leading a conspiracy to fix the wages of home healthcare nurses in the Las Vegas area between March 2016 and May 2019 and for five counts of fraud for concealing the government’s antitrust investigation from the buyer during the sale of his home healthcare staffing company for over $10 million.
“American workers are the bedrock of President Trump’s administration,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will continue to tirelessly fight for the innocent, like the hardworking nurses harmed in this case.”
The Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s International Corruption Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
“Wage-fixing is a brazen crime rightly punished by a lengthy period of incarceration. The dignity of work in return for a fair wage is core to our free-market enterprise system. The Defendant — a convicted antitrust criminal — profited at the expense of his employees and the unwitting buyer of his home healthcare company.” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail A. Slater of the Antitrust Division. “Far from being a mere “technical violation,” wage-fixing is a real crime that harms innocent people — in this case nurses — and today’s sentence — the Justice Department’s first ever wage-fixing conviction — reflects that such conduct will not be resolved with a fine.”
Senior Litigation Counsel Jeffrey Cramer and Mikal Condon, Assistant Chief Andrew Mast, and Trial Attorneys Paradi Javandel and Conor Bradley, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Anthony Lopez for the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.
“This case demonstrates the consequences of violating antitrust laws. By conspiring to fix wages, the defendant deprived hardworking nurses the right to earn a fair wage,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with the Antitrust Division and FBI to protect workers and we will prosecute those who seek to exploit others for personal gain.”
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation, or other antitrust and competition crimes, should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center by visiting www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
“A free and fair market are principles of the United States, and the FBI is committed to investigating those who seek to disrupt that and scam hardworking Americans,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The victims here are the hardworking nurses, who suffered loss of wages while they tirelessly cared for and helped Americans. The FBI will continue the fight against corruption and fraud across the country and globe.”
Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, visit www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
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