The Justice Department indicted Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke, a longtime executive in live sports and entertainment, in an alleged scheme to rig the bidding process at a public arena in Texas.
Leiweke was charged with a violation of section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
According to the indictment, Leiweke orchestrated an effort to get a rival to stand down on a bid for the arena contract in exchange for gaining subcontracts.
OVG has agreed to pay $15 million in penalties, while Legends Hospitality has agreed to pay $1.5 million, in connection with their conduct alleged in the indictment, the Justice Department said.
Abigail Slater, chief of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, said in a statement, “As outlined in the indictment, the Defendant rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding. The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold executives who cheat to avoid competition accountable.”
An Oak View Group spokesperson said that they “cooperated fully with the Antitrust Division’s inquiry and is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing. We support all efforts to ensure a fair and competitive environment in our industry and are committed to upholding industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices.”
The statement did not address Leiweke’s indictment.
Leiweke was the former CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, and later became the CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. He and Irving Azoff’s Azoff ASG Entertainment launched Oak View Group in 2015.