Federal authorities are intensifying a crackdown on price fixing in the promotional products market, as evidenced by more busts of admitted schemers.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that Netbrands Media Corporation and two of its top executives – Mashnoon Ahmed and Mueen Akhter – agreed to plead guilty for conspiring to fix prices for customized wristbands, lanyards, temporary tattoos and buttons sold online in the United States beginning as early as May 2014 until at least June 2016.

According to the Better Business Bureau, Netbrands Media Corporation does business under names that include Imprint.com (asi/230822), 24HourWristbands.com and US Manufacturing Group (asi/92433). Netbrands Media Corporation is not an ASI-listed company.

The defendants and their co-conspirators used social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications such as Facebook, Skype and Whatsapp to reach and implement their illegal agreements, the Department of Justice said. Including Netbrands, Ahkter and Ahmed, nine defendants have agreed to plead guilty for conspiring to fix prices for customized promotional products. As part of its guilty plea, Netbrands has agreed to pay a criminal fine of over $6 million.

“The results announced today are the latest in a series of charges against 11 defendants filed in the division’s ongoing investigation into conspiracies that corrupted the online marketplace and deprived consumers of the benefits of competition,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim. “Whether the conspiracy takes place in smoke-filled rooms that are real or virtual, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners are committed to uncovering and prosecuting collusion.”

The Department of Justice also announced that Taiwan-based G Nova Corporation and its CEO Yeh Fei Chu, aka Jim Chu, have been charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of can coolers sold in the U.S. beginning in about May 2012 and continuing until at least February 2014. The one-count felony indictment charges that G Nova and Chu carried out the conspiracy by agreeing to fix the prices of can coolers during meetings and other communications.

“It doesn’t matter if the products are 50 cent Koozies or million-dollar pieces of oil field equipment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting competition in the marketplace and protecting consumers from people who cheat the system,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed – all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A criminal violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $1 million for individuals as well as a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations.

“Antitrust violations raise prices and suppress competition, hurting businesses who play by the rules as well as consumers who pay more for products or services,” said Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Division.  “In these cases, people got greedy and their greed usurped the consumers’ right to choose between competitors.  The defendants in these cases took advantage of the niche in the markets they created and thought they could get away it. Well, they didn’t thanks to the FBI’s unique partnership with the DOJ’s Antitrust Division and our commitment to put an end to this type of unlawful activity.”

Authorities ask that anyone with information on price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct in the customized promotional products industry to contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit here.