U.S. Department
of Justice
Indictment
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SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
The Grand Jury charges that: 1. SAKAE SOMEYA is hereby indicted and made a defendant on the charge stated below: 2. From on or about January 1, 2001, until on or about December 31, 2004, the exact dates being unknown to the Grand Jury, the defendant, SAKAE SOMEYA, coconspirator Hitachi Displays Ltd. ("Hitachi"), and other corporations and individuals, entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display panels ("TFT-LCD") sold to Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries ("Dell") for use in desktop monitors and notebook computers. The combination and conspiracy engaged in by the defendant, his corporate employer, and other coconspirators was in unreasonable restraint of interstate and foreign trade and commerce in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1). 3. Defendant SAKAE SOMEYA joined and participated in the conspiracy from as early as January 1, 2001 and continued until at least December 31, 2004. 4. The charged combination and conspiracy consisted of a continuing agreement, understanding, and concert of action among the defendant, his corporate employer, and other coconspirators, the substantial terms of which were to agree to fix the prices for TFT-LCD to be sold to Dell. 5. For the purpose of forming and carrying out the charged combination and conspiracy, the defendant, his corporate employer, and other coconspirators did those things that they combined and conspired to do, including, among other things:
6. Defendant SAKAE SOMEYA is a citizen and resident of Japan. From at least as early as January 1, 2001 until on or about December 31, 2004, SAKAE SOMEYA was a Senior Manager for Sales & Marketing at Hitachi. During the period covered by this Indictment, Hitachi was a Japanese company engaged in the business of producing and selling TFT-LCD to customers in the United States and elsewhere. 7. Various corporations and individuals, not made defendants in this Indictment, participated as coconspirators in the offense charged in this Indictment and performed acts and made statements in furtherance of it. 8. Whenever in this Indictment reference is made to any act, deed, or transaction of any corporation, the allegation means that the corporation engaged in the act, deed, or transaction by or through its officers, directors, employees, agents, or other representatives while they were actively engaged in the management, direction, control, or transaction of its business or affairs. IV. 9. TFT-LCD are glass panels composed of an array of tiny pixels that are electronically manipulated in order to display images. TFT-LCD are manufactured in a broad range of sizes and specifications for use in televisions, notebook computers, desktop computer monitors, cell phones, mobile devices, and other applications. 10. During the period covered by this Indictment, the defendant, his corporate employer, and coconspirators sold and distributed substantial quantities of TFT-LCD in a continuous and uninterrupted flow of interstate and foreign trade and commerce to customers located in states or countries other than the states or countries in which the defendant, his corporate employer, and coconspirators produced TFT-LCD. In addition, payments for TFT-LCD traveled in interstate and foreign trade and commerce. 11. The business activities of the defendant, his corporate employer, and coconspirators that are the subject of this Indictment were within the flow of, and substantially affected, interstate and foreign trade and commerce. 12. The combination and conspiracy charged in this Indictment was carried out, in part, in the Northern District of California, within the five years preceding the filing of this Indictment. ALL IN VIOLATION OF TITLE 15, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1.
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