DETROIT (AP) ― Carmakers were forced to pay more for auto parts because a group of suppliers conspired to raise prices for more than a decade, the Justice Department said Thursday.
The scheme, revealed in documents filed with the federal court in Detroit, likely raised prices that consumers paid for cars.
In the documents, federal prosecutors charged a Japanese company and three of its executives with conspiracy to restrain trade. Prosecutors said the company, Furukawa Electric Co. of Tokyo, agreed to plead guilty and pay a $200 million fine, while the executives also will admit guilt and serve prison time in the U.S.
Furukawa, which makes automobile wiring, is part of a wider investigation into an auto parts cartel that rigged prices in the U.S. and Japan, according to the documents.
