Three Members of Sporting Goods Industry Indicted for Bid-Rigging Scheme in Mississippi

DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS (February 24, 2026) — NSGA has learned that a federal grand jury indicted three members of the sporting goods industry on February 11 for a bid-rigging conspiracy involving the sale of sports equipment to public schools in Mississippi, according to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The indictment alleges that Jerry Lavender and Jon Burt of Sports Specialty, Inc., in Columbus, Mississippi and Jay Purvis of George’s Sporting Goods in Laurel, Mississippi, engaged in the conspiracy from approximately July 2010 through July 2023. The indictment also alleges that from approximately July 2016 through September 2022, Burt participated in a separate bid-rigging conspiracy for the sale of sports equipment to Mississippi public schools.

The conduct of the defendants affected at least 44 public schools and millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, according to the DOJ release. Burt, Lavender, and Purvis are charged with one count of violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Burt is charged with an additional count of violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

The maximum penalty for violating the Sherman Act for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“Where our country sees an opportunity for children to shine, the defendants conspired to rig bids to benefit themselves,” said Daniel Glad, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, in the DOJ release. “Public school funding – in this case for school sports – enriches the lives of these students in Mississippi and will be protected from fraudulent schemes. The Antitrust Division will continue to ensure that opportunities for public school children and taxpayer dollars receive the benefit of a competitive bidding process.”

According to the indictment, Burt, Lavender and Purvis engaged in these conspiracies to circumvent the Mississippi procurement laws requiring two competitive bids for procurements over $5,000. Burt, Lavender and Purvis, along with their co-conspirators, including some school coaches acting as co-conspirators, agreed in advance who would win the bid. The conspirators agreed to provide complementary, intentionally higher-priced fake bids often referred to as “second quotes” to Mississippi public schools, submitted the higher-priced bids to the schools and received procurements for school sports equipment where the complementary bids were submitted.

“Stealing from public schools is stealing from the American people – plain and simple,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office in the DOJ release. “The egregious fraud carried out through bid-rigging schemes represents a blatant betrayal of public trust.

“Burt, Lavender, and Purvis allowed greed to drive them to mislead multiple schools, manipulate the competitive bidding process, and exploit the desire to provide children with quality sporting equipment for their own personal gain. The FBI and our federal partners will not allow criminals to rob our public-school systems and walk away without consequences. They will be held accountable and face justice.”

These indictments result from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the school sports equipment industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi. Assistant Chief Laura Butte, Trial Attorneys Marc Hedrich and Jessica Bigby and Senior Litigation Counsel Paul Torzilli are prosecuting the case.

As stated in the DOJ release, an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

NSGA will continue to monitor this case and will have no comment while it is pending.