Erosion Control Company and Employees Convicted in Criminal Antitrust Case for Their Roles in $100M Price-Fixing, Big-Rigging, and Allocation Schemes

Posted September 22, 2026

By the Constantine LLP Whistleblower Team

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that a federal jury convicted Sioux Erosion Control Inc. (“Sioux”), its part-owner and Vice President BG Dale Biscoe, and its employee Randall David Shelton, for violating the antitrust laws by participating in an antitrust conspiracy involving price-fixing, bid-rigging, and contract allocation in the market for erosion control products and services.[1] Erosion control products and services help control soil and rock runoff, for example, and they are often included in government contracts for projects such as highway construction and repair. The convictions of Sioux, Biscoe, and Shelton follow guilty pleas by four other individuals for their roles in the conspiracy.[2] (As of this writing, Shelton’s post-verdict motion for acquittal, which the DOJ opposed, remains pending.)

What Was the Anticompetitive Conduct at Issue in the Case?

According to the DOJ, Sioux, Biscoe, and Shelton conspired with competitors over several years to raise and maintain prices, rig bids, and allocate contracts. In particular, the DOJ’s indictment claimed that the defendants and their co-conspirators engaged in the following anticompetitive conduct in furtherance of the antitrust conspiracy:

“engaged in discussions and attended meetings concerning projects for, and prices of, erosion control products and services”;
“agreed during those discussions and meetings to allocate erosion control contracts based on geographic divisions . . . as well as other criteria discussed in advance of bid ‘letting’ dates, or bid submission deadlines”;
“agreed . . . not to compete for erosion control contracts and rig bids by either submitting intentionally high-priced bids for jobs allocated to a different company or by declining to submit bids for such jobs altogether”;
“agreed . . . to raise and maintain prices for solid slab sodding and other line items in erosion control contracts”;
“discussed and exchanged prices submitted to prime contractors for erosion control contracts so as not to undercut one another’s prices”;
“engaged in recorded discussions about the ‘gentlemen’s agreement’”;
“provided erosion control products and services . . . through . . . contracts awarded at collusive and noncompetitive prices that collectively were in excess of $100 million”; and
“took steps to conceal co-conspirator communications in furtherance of the conspiracy, including by utilizing ‘burner’ phones.”[3]

Price-fixing, big-rigging, and market allocation schemes are per se unlawful under Section 1 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1). These types of anticompetitive conspiracies can form the basis of civil actions or criminal charges irrespective of whether the victim suffering the anticompetitive effects in the form of higher prices, reduced output, or lower quality, for example, is the government or a private party. Nevertheless, the government is particularly motivated to prosecute such antitrust cases where per se illegal anticompetitive conduct leads to the government paying increased prices or receiving reduced output or lower quality goods or services. Indeed, the DOJ’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force was designed “to combat antitrust crimes and related schemes in government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government – Federal, state, and local.”[4]

What Did Federal Enforcers Say About the Verdict?

Several members of federal law enforcement issued strong statements on the verdict:

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. stated, “Americans have a right to expect that taxpayer-funded contracts are awarded through fair and honest competition, not secret agreements among competitors.” “The prosecution of these criminals demonstrates the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting public funds, safeguarding the integrity of government procurement, and holding accountable those who put personal profit above the law.”
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad of the DOJ Antitrust Division stated, “For years, the defendants stole from taxpayers by rigging bids and raising prices on highway projects across Oklahoma.” “Yesterday, an Oklahoma jury held the defendants accountable, finding them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This verdict underscores that, if you collude with your competitors to corrupt public procurement, the Antitrust Division and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners will work tirelessly to bring you to justice.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater stated, “This long-running scheme to fix prices and rig bids on highway construction projects drove up costs for American taxpayers while the defendants lined their pockets.” “The FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue corporations that violate antitrust laws at the expense of the American public. This verdict highlights our commitment to combatting illegal collusion through the justice system.”
Special Agent in Charge Joseph Harris of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s Southern Region stated, “Violations of the nation’s antitrust laws will be taken seriously, and those who attempt to circumvent federal bidding and contract regulations will be held accountable.” “Working alongside our partners at the FBI and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, we will continue to pursue those who cheat the system and ensure that public funds are used as intended — to support a safe, reliable, and cost‑effective transportation system that Americans depend on every day.”

All these statements underscore how seriously federal enforcers take criminal antitrust violations, especially when the anticompetitive conduct involves government procurement.

The DOJ Antitrust Whistleblower Program

In 2025, the DOJ Antitrust Division, working with the United States Postal Service, announced its Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, which offers financial rewards of up to 30% of the criminal fine or recovery to eligible whistleblowers who report original information about antitrust violations such as bid-rigging, price-fixing, and market allocation schemes.[5] We have extensively analyzed this new program in a number of prior blog posts including the following: DOJ Makes First Award Under Recently Launched Antitrust Whistleblower Program, DOJ Launches Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, Top 5 Whistleblower Program Developments for 2025, In Their Own Words…DOJ’s Daniel Glad’s Keynote Remarks on Whistleblowers at the Global Competition Review Cartels: Live! Conference, In Their Own Words… DOJ Official Ronald Fiorillo on the DOJ’s Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, and more.

What Types of Antitrust Violations Are Eligible for Whistleblower Awards?

The DOJ Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program focuses on criminal anticompetitive conduct, such as price-fixing, where competitors agree to fix prices instead of competing; bid-rigging, where competitors collude on bids or pre-arrange bid winners; and allocating markets, where businesses allocate (or divide up) customers, products, or geographic areas.[6]

In addition, antitrust violations like bid-rigging can form the predicate for a False Claims Act case if a government contract is involved. Like the DOJ Antitrust Whistleblower Program, whistleblowers (called relators) in False Claims Act cases are eligible to receive a percentage (up to 30%) of the government’s recovery.

Constantine LLP Has Extensive Antitrust and Whistleblower Experience

Constantine LLP has significant experience representing both antitrust and whistleblower clients. On the antitrust side, our firm is responsible for two of the largest antitrust settlements in history, recovering over $5 billion for our clients. On the whistleblower side, the firm has secured many landmark settlements, with over $1 billion recovered for the government and our whistleblower clients.

Many of our whistleblower matters have involved underlying antitrust violations. Among our antitrust whistleblower successes is the roughly $363 million in settlements we helped secure for the government and our client in a False Claims Act case against several Korean oil companies alleging a bid-rigging scheme to artificially inflate the price the U.S. military paid for fuel contracts for its bases in South Korea. It is the largest False Claims Act antitrust recovery ever.

Constantine LLP partner Dan Vitelli commented: “These recent convictions and statements from enforcers about the verdict highlight that the government will aggressively prosecute per se illegal anticompetitive conduct, especially when it involves government procurement and harms the government. We expect the DOJ Antitrust Whistleblower Program will successfully incentivize whistleblowers to come forward and help the government uncover criminal antitrust violations. Not all antitrust conspiracies are hatched in a ‘smoke-filled room,’ but they are often kept secret. It can therefore be hard for the government to detect anticompetitive agreements. This new program, like other successful whistleblower programs, will help bring misconduct to light and initiate enforcement efforts.”

If you believe you have a case, please contact us. We will connect you with an experienced member of our whistleblower team for a free and confidential consultation.