The Department of Justice announced that a federal jury in New York City convicted three former financial services executives for their participation in conspiracies related to bidding for contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts.

Dominick P. Carollo, Steven E. Goldberg and Peter S. Grimm, all former executives of GE Funding Capital Market Services, were found guilty on all remaining counts of a superseding indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Carollo was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the U.S., Goldberg was found guilty on four counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and defraud the U.S. and Grimm was found guilty on three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to defraud the United States.

Each of the fraud conspiracy charges carries a maximum penalty per count of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fines for the fraud conspiracy offense may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

“The defendants corrupted the competitive bidding process and defrauded municipalities across the country for years,” said deputy assistant attorney general Scott D. Hammond of the antitrust division. “Through corruption and fraud, they cheated cities and towns out of money for important public works projects. Today’s convictions reflect our determination to preserve fairness and competition in the financial services market.”

A total of eighteen individuals have been charged as a result of the department’s ongoing municipal bonds investigation. Including these convictions, a total of 15 individuals have been convicted and three await trial. Additionally, one company has pleaded guilty.

To read the Department of Justice news release, click here.