Samsung ordered to pay $300 million for price-fixing

Samsung will pay a $300 million fine for conspiring with other companies to fix prices of computer memory chips under a plea agreement accepted on Wednesday by a federal judge in San Francisco, the Associated Press reported.

The fine is the second-largest ever in a criminal anti-trust case, the AP said. Samsung, based in Seoul, South Korea, agreed to the plea deal in October after a three-year investigation into price fluctuations in the market for dynamic random access memory, which are used in personal computers and other electronics.

Others that had previously agreed to pay fines for thier involvement in the scheme include Hynix Semiconductor, also based in Seoul, and Infineon Technologies of Germany. The Justice Department told the AP the investigation continues to examine other companies and people.

Victims of the scheme, according to prosecutors, included Apple Computer, Dell, Compaq Computer, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Samsung's fines do not include restitution for any victims, who are free to sue for damages. The price fixing led these companies to either raise PC prices or reduce machines' memory capacity.

In addition, seven Samsung executives were excluded from the terms of the plea deal and could still face government prosecution.