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December 9, 2021

Former aerospace executive charged in hiring restriction conspiracy

Photo | Pixabay
By Michael Puffer

A former aerospace outsourcing executive has been charged in an alleged scheme to restrict employees’ ability to move to other companies, lowering their job prospects and earning potential.

Mahesh Patel, former director of global engineering services at “a major aerospace engineering company,” enforced a conspiracy among outsource engineering companies not to hire or recruit each other’s employees, according to a release Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Federal authorities allege Patel berated suppliers who cheated on the agreement, threatening to take away valuable access to projects, according to the federal release.

Patel and co-conspirators used the scheme to suppress competition for workers and keep labor costs from increasing, federal authorities allege.

Patel, charged with conspiracy in restraint of trade, appeared remotely in federal court in Hartford on Tuesday. He was released on $100,000 bond and with travel restrictions.

Patel faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1 million. That fine can be increased to twice the financial gain realized by perpetrators or twice the loss suffered by victims.

“The Antitrust Division, together with our law enforcement partners, have prioritized rooting out conspiracies in labor markets,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Here, thousands of workers have been victimized over a long period of time. We will vigorously prosecute this and other cases in which corporate executives undermine the careers of their own workers in order to reap undeserved profits and deprive our fellow citizens of opportunities to earn a competitive wage.”

An investigation affidavit submitted by Christopher Mehring, special agent with the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Defense lists Patel's employer only as "Company A." Portions of the unsealed affidavit were redacted by the government. 

A Linkedin profile for a Mahesh Patel lists employment with East Hartford-based aircraft engine manufacturing giant Pratt & Whitney for 27 years, with the most recent job title of "Director, Global Engineering Sourcing." 

In 2003, Patel became manager, then director, of the unit in "Company A" in charge of managing the relationship between Company A and its suppliers, according the Mehring's affidavit. 

A 2017 Facebook post by Engineers Without Borders lists a Mahesh Patel as a "global manager" with Pratt & Whitney. A 2014 article in the Hindu Business Line notes a Mahesh Patel as being involved with "Global Engineering Sourcing" for Pratt & Whitney. 

A source familiar with Pratt & Whitney said Patel left the company more than a year ago. 

Raytheon Technologies, parent company for Pratt & Whitney, issued a statement saying Raytheon "is committed to complying with applicable state and federal laws and is cooperating fully with the government's inquiry." 

Patel's attorney, Brian E. Spears, declined comment Thursday. 

Other industry leaders will likely face scrutiny. 

Patel is the first to be charged in an ongoing federal antitrust investigation, according to the Department of Justice release. Federal authorities allege he was involved in a “long-running conspiracy with managers and executives of several outsource engineering suppliers.”

Mehring's redacted affidavit tallies eight unnamed "co-conspirators" tied to five unnamed companies with principal places of business in East Hartford; Windsor; Jupiter, Fla. or Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.  The co-conspirators held titles including vice presidents, general managers, a company president and other leadership roles, according to the affidavit. 

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