EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Two southwestern Illinois men snared in a price-fixing scheme orchestrated by a county treasurer have been sentenced to prison on federal antitrust convictions.
Fifty-six-year-old John Vassen of O’Fallon was sentenced Thursday in East St. Louis to two years in prison. Fifty-one-year-old Scott McLean of Belleville was ordered to spend a year and a half behind bars. Both men were fined $25,000.
Authorities say the two participated in then-Madison County Treasurer Fred Bathon’s scheme to structure the county’s tax sales to permit the tax buyers to charge distressed homeowners inflated interest rates from 2005-2008 in exchange for campaign contributions.
Authorities say Vassen and McLean each made nearly $700,000 in excessive interest during the purchases.
Bathon pleaded guilty and is serving two and a half years in prison.
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