The Competition Bureau announced last Friday in a news release that another seven individuals have pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy charges in relation to the Bureau’s ongoing gasoline price-fixing investigation in Quebec.
In making the announcement, the Bureau said:
“Two of the accused, Gary Neiderer and Fabien Chouinard are territorial managers employed by Sonic. They were sentenced today to fines of $3,000 and $4,000 respectively. The other five accused are service stations owners. Jacques Blais and Louis Blais operated under the Shell banner. Luc Fecteau, Yvan Grondin and Jacques Robert operated under the Esso banner. The five owners were each sentenced to fines of $5,000.
Charges were laid in June 2008 and July 2010 against 38 individuals and 14 companies for fixing the price of gas at pumps in Victoriaville, Thetford Mines, Magog and Sherbrooke, Quebec. As of today, 21 individuals and six companies have pleaded guilty in this case, with fines totalling over $2.8 million. Of the 21 individuals who have pleaded guilty, six have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment totalling 54 months.”
The Bureau has also significantly expanded its summary of investigations into gasoline pricing in Canada, presumably based on the number of complaints and inquiries the Bureau receives relating to gas prices – see: Investigating Cartels – Gas Prices.
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