Controversy
In 2000, Christie's and Sotheby's admitted to a criminal price fixing conspiracy in violation of antitrust law, and each agreed to pay clients $256 million in compensation for illegally coordinating the commissions they charged on sales between 1993 and early 2000. Alfred Taubman, former chairman of Sotheby's, went to prison upon being convicted for his part in the scheme. Sotheby's CEO Diana Brooks and her counterpart at Christie's, Christopher Davidge, confessed to the crime; Brooks implicated Taubman, who was fined $7.5 million in addition to going to prison. After Christie's announced it was cooperating with the government in the antitrust investigation in January 2000, clients of both auction houses file hundreds of lawsuits against them; the suits were later consolidated into one class-action suit. That autumn, that houses agreed to a $512 million settlement in the class-action suit, with Taubman saying he would pay $156 million of Sotheby's $256 million share.
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Famous quotes containing the word controversy:
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