THE US Justice Department has announced that Gennex Media's owner and president Akil Kurji pleaded guilty in Houston's US District Court to conspiring to fix prices on promotional goods, including wristbands, lanyards, temporary tattoos and buttons that were sold to customers across the US.
Mr Kurji, who is the owner of the Houston-based e-commerce firm, was charged on November 1 for selling the items between May 2014 and June 2016.
According to the Justice Department, the executive and his co-conspirators used social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications, such as Facebook, Skype and WhatsApp, to implement their illicit agreement, reported American Shipper.
Mr Kurji is the fifth individual to enter a guilty plea in the Justice Department's continuing promotional products investigation. To date, 11 defendants have been charged in the probe into the online customised promotional products industry.
Price-fixing carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a US$1 million fine for individuals.
'Price-fixing for small, logo-branded items is illegal, just like it would be for a pair of Fortune 500 companies,' said US Attorney Ryan Patrick for the southern district of Texas in a statement. 'In the end consumers are harmed by paying inflated prices for items.'
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Mr Kurji, who is the owner of the Houston-based e-commerce firm, was charged on November 1 for selling the items between May 2014 and June 2016.
According to the Justice Department, the executive and his co-conspirators used social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications, such as Facebook, Skype and WhatsApp, to implement their illicit agreement, reported American Shipper.
Mr Kurji is the fifth individual to enter a guilty plea in the Justice Department's continuing promotional products investigation. To date, 11 defendants have been charged in the probe into the online customised promotional products industry.
Price-fixing carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a US$1 million fine for individuals.
'Price-fixing for small, logo-branded items is illegal, just like it would be for a pair of Fortune 500 companies,' said US Attorney Ryan Patrick for the southern district of Texas in a statement. 'In the end consumers are harmed by paying inflated prices for items.'
WORLD SHIPPING