Hynix execs to plead guilty

Four executives today from Hynix Semiconductor--the second largest maker of computer memory chips--have agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing that harmed Apple as well as other companies, and will serve jail time in the U.S. The felony pleas were entered as part of the U.S. government's ongoing investigation into a global conspiracy to fix the prices of DRAM, according to a report from Reuters. To date, the Justice Department has charged four companies and nine individuals, and collected fines of over $731 million in the San Francisco-based investigation. Each of the four Hynix execs agreed to pay $250,000, serve jail time ranging from five to eight months, and cooperate with the ongoing investigation, according to the report. Among those harmed by the scheme were U.S. computer makers HP, Dell, and Apple, which reached a long-term supply agreement with Hynix late last year.

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