President Donald Trump pardoned a developer on Tuesday from federal charges related to rigging bids to develop the Moody Center in his company’s favor, according to the pardon and indictment.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice argued Timothy Leiweke, Oak View Group co-founder and former CEO, deprived UT-Austin and taxpayers of a competitive bidding process, according to a DOJ press release. Oak View Group is a global entertainment company that manages and helped develop the Moody Center, a venue that hosts UT basketball games and concerts.
The University was looking for a company to develop the Moody Center in 2022 before tearing down the Frank Erwin Center, which previously hosted UT basketball. Although the indictment did not name the Moody Center, it named a public Austin university arena, and the Moody Center is the only one.
According to the indictment, Leiweke told his colleagues in 2017 that he had learned a competitor was bidding against Oak View Group for the Moody Center project and wanted to find a way to get them “to back down.” Leiweke talked with the competitors and, in February 2018, reached an agreement with the competitor’s CEO to have them stand down and not submit a competing bid for the Moody Center Project, as Leiweke promised the competitor would receive part of the project’s subcontracts, according to the indictment. Ultimately, the competitor did not submit a bid for the project, and Oak View Group won the bid and later declined to offer the competitor the project’s subcontracts, according to the indictment.
“Public contracts are subject to laws requiring an open and competitive bid process to ensure a level playing field,” said Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York Field Office, which was investigating the case. “The FBI is determined to ensure that those who disregard fair competition principles do not benefit from a rigged bidding process targeting our communities and public institutions.”
According to the press release, Trump’s pardon relieves Leiweke of a conspiracy charge of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, a law that prohibits any business practices that hurt interstate commerce and competition. Under the maximum penalty, Leiweke would have faced a $1 million fine and 10 years in prison.
Oak View Group transitioned Leiweke out of his CEO role in July after the federal indictment. Since then, Chris Granger has been named the new CEO of the group, according to a Tuesday press release.
“We are happy for Tim that he can now put this matter behind him,” wrote an Oak View Group spokesperson. “OVG has remained steadfastly focused on delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients under the leadership of our CEO, Chris Granger.”
