A federal grand jury in Las Vegas on Wednesday returned a one-count felony indictment charging a healthcare staffing executive with violating the Sherman Act by conspiring to fix the wages of nurses in the region, the US Department of Justice announced today.

The indicted, Eduardo Lopez of Las Vegas, held executive positions at three home health agencies, overseeing recruitment, hiring, retention and assignments of nurses and other health care staff at each company.

According to the department, between March 2016 and May 2019, Lopez and his co-conspirators allegedly agreed to suppress and eliminate competition for the services of nurses. The indictment alleges that Lopez and his co-conspirators participated in several meetings and communications to agree on wage-fixing.

The statutory maximum penalty for a Sherman Act violation is 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. The maximum fine for corporations is $100 million. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum.

“The wage fixing alleged in this case harmed hardworking Americans and cheated them of fair opportunity and compensation,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI is committed to rooting out anti-competitive activity and corruption.”