United States v. Eduardo Lopez

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) won a rare criminal conviction in an antitrust wage-fixing case against Eduardo Lopez, the former CEO of Nevada home health agency Community Home Health Care (CHHC). Mr. Lopez was criminally indicted for conspiring with competitors to fix the wages of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses employed by home health agencies in the Las Vegas area, allegedly suppressing competition and restricting wages. A federal jury found the defendant guilty of participating in a wage-fixing conspiracy and of wire fraud related to the sale of his company.

Although not involved in the merits phase of the case, Analysis Group was retained on behalf of the defendant in the sentencing phase to analyze the economic impact of the defendant’s actions. A team led by Managing Principal Andrea Okie and Vice President Kerri Holmsten supported Managing Principal Maria Garibotti, who testified at the criminal sentencing hearing on her analysis of the volume of commerce affected by the defendant’s wage-fixing conspiracy. Dr. Garibotti’s analysis found that the wages paid by home health agencies where the defendant worked were stable or rising during the at-issue period, and that CHHC in particular paid wage rates at the top of or higher than the agreed-to hourly range during the defendant’s employment. She opined that there was no economic evidence that the defendant’s wage-fixing conspiracy impacted actual wages.

Consistent with Dr. Garibotti’s testimony, a federal judge in the District of Nevada returned a sentence that did not institute any antitrust restitution fine.