Timothy J. Leiweke, co-founder and CEO of Oak View Group, which manages Austin's massive Moody Center, has been indicted by a federal grand jury "for orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas," the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced in a release. OVG develops and provides services for live entertainment venues.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the indictment alleges that over a period of more than six years (February 2018 to June 2024 at least), Leiweke and a competing CEO at Legends Hospitality conspired "to rig the bidding for the development, management, and use of a multi-purpose arena that was to be located on the campus of a public university in Austin, Texas (the “Arena Project”)."

According to the indictment, in 2017, Leiweke told colleagues that he wanted to influence a competing venue-services company to "back down" from its bid by cutting it in to receive subcontracts at the arena in the future. The indictment alleges that, in 2018, the two CEOs reached an agreement; OVG would offer subcontracts for the competitor, and the competitor would not submit a bid. OVG submitted the only qualified bid, meaning it won the arena project by default.

“As outlined in the indictment, the Defendant rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, as quoted in the release. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold executives who cheat to avoid competition accountable.”

The arena opened in April 2022, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the project to date, the release says.

OVG has agreed to pay $15 million in penalties in connection to the case, and Legends Hospitality will pay $1.5 million in penalties.

Leiweke has been charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Ac, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine, which may be increased proportionally to the financial gain or loss as a result of the crime.

Responding to the indictment to Deadline, a spokesperson for Leiweke said: "Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity. The Antitrust Division’s allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought. The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal. These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize common teaming efforts that are proven to enhance competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as it has resulted in substantial and sustained benefits to the University of Texas and the City of Austin."

If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence, the release says. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office are investigating the case; the Antitrust Division’s New York Office is prosecuting the case, with the help of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.