Infineon execs to get prison terms

No_Style · Dec 3, 2004, 05:36 PM

Four sales executives of German chipmaker Infineon Technologies have agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of computer memory chips, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

The four men--three Germans and an American--will serve up to six months in prison and pay $250,000 each in fines, according to a plea agreement filed in federal district court in San Francisco. The agreement must be approved by the court.

The move comes two months after Infineon agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing charges and pay a $160 million fine as part of the Justice Department's 2-year-old probe into the prices of dynamic random access memory, used in computers and other electronics.

Computer makers including Dell have long complained about high memory-chip prices, which are among the most volatile in the semiconductor industry.

"These four executives are the first to plead guilty to a charge of fixing prices in what is still a very active and far-reaching investigation into antitrust violations in the DRAM industry," Scott Hammond, the director of criminal enforcement for the Justice Department's antitrust department, said in a statement.
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Read More/Source: C|Net Tech News

Dec 3, 2004, 05:36 PM	#1
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	Infineon execs to get prison terms Four sales executives of German chipmaker Infineon Technologies have agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of computer memory chips, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday. The four men--three Germans and an American--will serve up to six months in prison and pay $250,000 each in fines, according to a plea agreement filed in federal district court in San Francisco. The agreement must be approved by the court. The move comes two months after Infineon agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing charges and pay a $160 million fine as part of the Justice Department's 2-year-old probe into the prices of dynamic random access memory, used in computers and other electronics. Computer makers including Dell have long complained about high memory-chip prices, which are among the most volatile in the semiconductor industry. "These four executives are the first to plead guilty to a charge of fixing prices in what is still a very active and far-reaching investigation into antitrust violations in the DRAM industry," Scott Hammond, the director of criminal enforcement for the Justice Department's antitrust department, said in a statement. _______________ Read More/Source: C\|Net Tech News __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here