Four individuals and one company pleaded guilty in three separate U.S. District Courts for their roles in various bid rigging and wire fraud conspiracies which targeted the sale of sports equipment to public schools throughout Mississippi and Louisiana.

The schemes affected sales to hundreds of public schools in both states. The guilty pleas were made between February and March of 2025.

Patrick Joseph Stewart, of Hattiesburg, pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging and one count of wire fraud affecting sales to at least 69 public schools in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

In the Southern District of Mississippi, Maurice Daniel Bowering Jr., of Hattiesburg, pleaded guilty to five counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 50 public schools; and Robert Tucker Craig, of Starkville, pleaded guilty to three counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 38 public schools and one count of obstruction for the deletion of related evidence on Feb. 19.

Lastly, Robert Douglas Heflin, of Starkville, pleaded guilty to two counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 31 public schools on March 4.

Mississippi company Wilder Fitness Equipment Inc., pleaded guilty to two counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 60 public schools on Feb. 20, in the Northern District of Mississippi.

Wilder Fitness Equipment Inc. is headquartered in Pontotoc. It manufactures and distributes weightlifting and other training equipment.

According to court documents, Tucker, Bowering, Heflin, Stewart, and Wilder Fitness Equipment Inc. entered into conspiracies in which they agreed to submit complementary bids to public schools to obtain procurements for sports equipment and related services.

Two other co-conspirators, Charles Ferrell Trimm and Bradley D. Willcutt, previously pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Mississippi in May 2024 and September 2024, respectively.

Trimm was a salesman for equipment manufacturer and distributor Riddell. His accounts included the Vicksburg Warren School District and Porter’s Chapel Academy. Officials at those schools said they were not sure if or how much they had been affected by the schemes.

Blake Purvis, PCA’s head of school, athletics director and head football coach, said the school did not use a bid process for its equipment and he had not been notified by authorities whether it was a target of the scheme.

VWSD athletics director James Lewis said he was notified that the district was among those affected by the bid rigging scheme, but it was unclear how long ago it started or how the district could recoup any damages. The longest of the charged conspiracies lasted more than a decade.

The maximum penalty for the Sherman Act is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud is 20 years in prison, a criminal fine, and Court-ordered restitution.

The maximum penalty for obstruction is 20 years in prison and a criminal fine of no more than $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine the sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“School sports are integral to the development and upbringing of American children. From these opportunities, they learn the benefits of teamwork and open competition. Bid rigging, on the other hand, is the antithesis of American meritocracy. It is also patently unlawful,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The defendants here selfishly targeted school sports programs, depriving students of an opportunity to thrive. The Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force has zero tolerance for bid collusion schemes, particularly when they target children.”