Top bar

About POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (FCMD)

The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

BP P.L.C.

Conspiracy to Manipulate the Propane Market

Date: 06/28/2006 (Date of Guilty Plea)

Misconduct Type: Antitrust

Enforcement Agency: Justice

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Criminal

Amount: $250,000

Disposition: Pleaded Guilty

Synopsis: "Dennis N. Abbott, a former trader at a U.S. subsidiary of British Petroleum... pleaded guilty to conspiring to manipulate and corner the propane market in the winter of 2004...Under the terms of a plea agreement, Abbott faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and supervised release following any incarceration. Abbott has agreed to cooperate with law enforcement officials in an ongoing investigation...Abbott admitted in his plea agreement and an accompanying factual statement that from Feb. 5, 2004 through July 28, 2004, he and other employees of a British Petroleum subsidiary, BP Products North America (BP), agreed to manipulate the February 2004 propane market for TET propane." See related BP Amoco P.L.C. misconduct instance, "Conspiring to Corner the Propane Market (CFTC v. BP Products North America)."