Eric J. Caddy, 62, owner of a storage sales company, pleaded guilty to two felony counts — conspiracy to rig bids and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Department of War — in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The charges stem from collusive bidding on four healthcare-related projects at Air Force Base Moody in Valdosta, Georgia: the Medical Logistics Warehouse Project, the Pharmacy Modernization and Renovation Project, the Veterinary Clinic Project, and the Dental Lab Clinic Project. The projects totaled over $1.6 million and were funded through the Defense Logistics Agency's Facilities Maintenance, Repair, and Operations Program.
According to the information and plea agreement, a co-conspirator instructed Caddy to submit intentionally higher prices on the bids and provided him with the specific pricing to include. Caddy then submitted those collusive bids to a prime vendor for the federal government, which in turn submitted them to the Department of War. To conceal the scheme, Caddy rewrote certain bid forms in his own handwriting before transmitting them.
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division announced the plea on March 18, 2026, describing it as the first in an ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraud affecting U.S. military facilities across the country.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel Glad of the Antitrust Division said that defending free and fair competition in healthcare spending is a critical priority for the division, particularly when it affects the U.S. military, and that the Procurement Collusion Strike Force and its partners will continue to find and prosecute those who corrupt the competitive process and increase healthcare-related costs.
Caddy faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine on the Sherman Act bid-rigging count, and up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the fraud count. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount exceeds the statutory maximum. Sentencing is scheduled for June 25. The case was investigated by the Antitrust Division's Washington Criminal Section, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Defense Logistics Agency Office of Inspector General. Trial Attorneys Daniel Chung and Christian Neumeister of the Antitrust Division's Washington Criminal Section are prosecuting.