A former Aldi executive and a general contractor from Breese admitted to rigging the bid system for construction projects of grocery stores throughout southern Illinois and Missouri.
The U.S. attorney reports 64-year-old Louis Ross, Sr., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. 73-year-old Donald Schniers pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud.
According to court documents, Ross was the Director of Real Estate for Aldi’s O’Fallon, Missouri, Division.
From at least February 2014 through March 2018, Ross and Schniers conspired to create a fake competitive bidding environment for construction projects.
Using the rigged bidding system, Schniers' company, C. Juengel, was awarded 12 contracts for general contractor services valued at approximately $20 million.
Due to the stifled competition, Aldi overpaid for the projects and suffered an approximate loss greater than $2.8 million.
For his role in the conspiracy, Schniers paid Ross monthly kickbacks totaling $554,000.
The two will be sentenced in October.
