Source: https://stg.justice.gov/atr/case-document/panasonic-plea-agreement
Timestamp: 2019-03-25 03:22:30
Document Index: 422639542

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 3742', '§ 3742', '§ 1', '§ 3571', '§ 8', '§ 3563', '§5', '§ 3553', '§6', '§ 8']

Panasonic Plea Agreement | ATR | Department of Justice
Panasonic Plea Agreement
The United States of America and Panasonic Corporation ("defendant"), a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Japan, hereby enter into the following Plea Agreement pursuant to Rule 11(c)(1)(C) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure ("Fed. R. Crim. P."):
(c)	as a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Japan, to decline to accept service of the Summons in this case, and to contest the jurisdiction of the United States to prosecute this case against it in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan;
2.	The defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives the rights set out in Paragraph 1(b)-(g) above, including all jurisdictional defenses to the prosecution of this case, and agrees voluntarily to consent to the jurisdiction of the United States to prosecute this case against it in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The defendant also knowingly and voluntarily waives the right to file any appeal, any collateral attack, or any other writ or motion, including but not limited to an appeal under 18 U.S.C. ï½§ 3742, that challenges the sentence imposed by the Court if that sentence is consistent with or below the recommended sentence in Paragraph 8 of this Plea Agreement, regardless of how the sentence is determined by the Court. This agreement does not affect the rights or obligations of the United States as set forth in 18 U.S.C. ï½§ 3742(b)-(c). Nothing in this paragraph, however, shall act as a bar to the defendant perfecting any legal remedies it may otherwise have on appeal or collateral attack respecting claims of ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct. The defendant agrees that there is currently no known evidence of ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(b), the defendant will waive indictment and plead guilty at arraignment to a one-count Information to be filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The Information will charge the defendant with participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices to customers of household compressors sold in the United States and elsewhere, from October 14, 2004, through December 31, 2007, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, 15 U.S.C. ï½§ 1. For purposes of this Plea Agreement with defendant, "household compressors" means solely refrigerant compressors for household use in refrigerators and freezers.
(a)	For purposes of this Plea Agreement, the "relevant period" is that period from October 14, 2004, through December 31, 2007. During the relevant period, the defendant was a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Japan and the business unit of the defendant within which the offense occurred employed more than 1000 but fewer than 5000 employees. The defendant has its principal place of business in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. During the relevant period, the defendant was a producer of household compressors, and was engaged in the sale of household compressors.
Compressors are the parts found in devices such as refrigerators and freezers that take in low-pressure refrigerant, compress it, and then pump out a high-pressure vapor which condenses and subsequently cools the devices. During the relevant period, the defendant's sales of household compressors affecting United States customers totaled at least $261 million.
(b)	During the relevant period, the defendant, through its officers and employees, including high-level personnel in the unit of the organization within which the offense was committed, participated in a conspiracy among major household compressor producers, the primary purpose of which was to raise the price of household compressors sold in the United States and elsewhere. In furtherance of the conspiracy, the defendant, through its officers and employees, engaged in discussions and attended meetings with representatives of other major household compressor producers. During these discussions and meetings, agreements were reached to raise the price of household compressors to be sold in the United States and elsewhere.
(c)	During the relevant period, household compressors sold by one or more of the conspirator firms, and equipment and supplies necessary to the production and distribution of household compressors, as well as payments for household compressors, traveled in interstate and foreign commerce. The business activities of the defendant and its co-conspirators in connection with the production and sale of household compressors that were the subjects of this conspiracy were within the flow of, and substantially affected, interstate and foreign trade and commerce.
(d)	Acts in furtherance of this conspiracy were carried out within the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division. The household compressors that were the subject of this conspiracy were sold by one or more of the conspirators to customers in this District.
(c)	twice the gross pecuniary loss caused to the victims of the crime by the conspirators (18 U.S.C. ï½§ 3571 (c) and (d)).
(b)	pursuant to ï½§ 8B1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G.," "Sentencing Guidelines," or "Guidelines") or 18 U.S.C. ï½§ 3563(b)(2) or 3663(a)(3), the Court may order it to pay restitution to the victims of the offense; and
8.	Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(c)(1)(C), the United States and the defendant agree that the appropriate disposition of this case is, and agree to recommend jointly that the Court impose, a sentence requiring the defendant to pay to the United States a criminal fine of $49.1 million payable in full before the fifteenth (15th) day after the date of judgment ("the recommended sentence"). The parties agree that there exists no aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the U.S. Sentencing Commission in formulating the Sentencing Guidelines justifying a departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. ï½§5K2.0. The parties agree not to seek or support any sentence outside of the Guidelines range nor any Guidelines adjustment for any reason that is not set forth in this Plea Agreement. The parties further agree that the recommended sentence set forth in this Plea Agreement is reasonable.
(c)	The United States and the defendant jointly submit that this Plea Agreement, together with the record that will be created by the United States and the defendant at the plea and sentencing hearings, and the further disclosure described in Paragraph 10, will provide sufficient information concerning the defendant, the crime charged in this case, and the defendant's role in the crime to enable the meaningful exercise of sentencing authority by the Court under 18 U.S.C. ï½§ 3553. The United States and defendant agree to request jointly that the Court accept the defendant's guilty plea and impose sentence on an expedited schedule as early as the date of arraignment, based upon the record provided by the defendant and the United States, under the provisions of Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(c)(1)(A)(ii), U.S.S.G. ï½§6A1.1. The Court's denial of the request to impose sentence on an expedited schedule will not void this Plea Agreement.
9.	The United States and the defendant agree that the applicable Guidelines fine range exceeds the fine contained in the recommended sentence set out in Paragraph 8 above. Subject to the full and continuing cooperation of the defendant, as described in Paragraph 13 of this Plea Agreement, and prior to sentencing in this case, the United States agrees that it will move, pursuant to U.S.S.G. ï½§ 8C4.1, for a downward departure from the Guidelines fine range and will request that the Court impose the recommended sentence set out in Paragraph 8 of this Plea Agreement because of the defendant's substantial assistance in the government's investigation and prosecutions of violations of federal criminal law in the household compressor industry.
12. In light of the availability of civil causes of action, which potentially provide for a recovery of a multiple of actual damages, the United States agrees that it will not seek a restitution order for the offense charged in the Information.
13.	The defendant Panasonic Corporation, and its wholly-owned, or majority-owned or majority-controlled subsidiaries (collectively, "related entities") will cooperate fully and truthfully with the United States in the prosecution of this case, the conduct of the current federal investigation of violations of federal antitrust and related criminal laws involving the production or sale of household compressors, any other federal investigation resulting therefrom, and any litigation or other proceedings arising or resulting from any such investigation to which the United States is a party ("Federal Proceeding"). The ongoing, full, and truthful cooperation of the defendant shall include, but not be limited to:
(b)	using its best efforts to secure the ongoing, full, and truthful cooperation, as defined in Paragraph 14 of this Plea Agreement, of the current and former directors, officers, and employees of the defendant or any of its related entities, as may be requested by the United States, but excluding Masatoshi Ando and Naoki Adachi, including making these persons available in the United States and at other mutually agreed-upon locations, at the defendant's expense, for interviews and the provision of testimony in grand jury, trial, and other judicial proceedings in connection with any Federal Proceeding.
15.	Upon acceptance of the guilty plea called for by this Plea Agreement and the imposition of the recommended sentence, and subject to the cooperation requirements of Paragraph 13 of this Plea Agreement, the United States agrees that it will not bring further criminal charges against the defendant or the related entities for any act or offense committed before the date of this Plea Agreement that was undertaken in furtherance of an antitrust conspiracy involving the production or sale of household compressors. The nonprosecution terms of this paragraph do not apply to civil matters of any kind, to any violation of the federal tax or securities laws, or to any crime of violence.
(a)	Upon the Court's acceptance of the guilty plea called for by this Plea Agreement and the imposition of the recommended sentence and subject to the exceptions noted in Paragraph 16(c), the United States will not bring criminal charges against any current or former director, officer, or employee of the defendant or its related entities for any act or offense committed before the date of this Plea Agreement and while that person was acting as a director, officer, or employee of the defendant or its related entities that was undertaken in furtherance of an antitrust conspiracy involving the production or sale of household compressors ("Relevant Offense"), except that the protections granted in this paragraph shall not apply to Masatoshi Ando and Naoki Adachi;
(g)	Documents provided under Paragraphs 13(a) and 14(a) shall be deemed responsive to outstanding grand jury subpoenas issued to the defendant or any of its	related entities.
21.	The defendant agrees that, should the United States determine in good faith, during the period that any Federal Proceeding is pending, that the defendant or any of its related entities have failed to provide full and truthful cooperation, as described in Paragraph 14 of this Plea Agreement, or has otherwise violated any provision of this Plea Agreement, the United States will notify counsel for the defendant in writing by personal or overnight delivery or facsimile transmission and may also notify counsel by telephone of its intention to void any of its obligations under this Plea Agreement (except its obligations under this paragraph), and the defendant and its related entities shall be subject to prosecution for any federal crime of which the United States has knowledge including, but not limited to, the substantive offenses relating to the investigation resulting in this Plea Agreement. The defendant and its related entities agree that, in the event that the United States is released from its obligations under this Plea Agreement and brings criminal charges against the defendant or its related entities for any offense referred to in Paragraph 15 of this Plea Agreement, the statute of limitations period for such offense shall be tolled for the period between the date of the signing of this Plea Agreement and six (6) months after the date the United States gave notice of its intent to void its obligations under this Plea Agreement.
24.	The undersigned is authorized to enter this Plea Agreement on behalf of the defendant as evidenced by the Resolution of the Board of Directors of the defendant described in the document attached to, and incorporated by reference in, this Plea Agreement.
DATED: ____9/30/10 ___________
Counsel for Panasonic Corporation
801 W. Superior, 14th Floor
Tel.: (216) 687-8400
The Board of Directors of our company certifies that, at the Board of Director's meeting convened on September 30, 2010, Managing Director Kazunori Takami was given authorization to sign the plea agreement between Panasonic Corporation and the United States Department of Justice, dated September 30, 2010.
Representative Director and President, Fumio Otsubo
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