STARKVILLE — Former General Manager of Starkville’s Parks and Recreation Doug Heflin pleaded guilty last month to rigging bids while selling sports equipment to public schools in both Mississippi and Louisiana.
Heflin entered into a plea deal March 4 in the Northern District Court of Mississippi, which included two counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 31 public schools.
The bid rigging conspiracies Heflin allegedly participated in “deprived victim schools” of the benefits of free and fair competition, as the conspirators submitted complementary bids for sports equipment and related services to public schools that caused them to pay higher prices than they would have paid in a competitive market, the plea agreement reads.
The conspiracies affected at least $855,910.28 in sales between September 2012 and September 2023. Heflin received commission payments from his then-employers based on his sales, according to the plea agreement.
Three other men and one Mississippi company also pleaded guilty to roles in the bid rigging and wire fraud conspiracies between February and March, a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
“Bid rigging and the collusion that makes it possible drive up prices for taxpayers and will not be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi Clay Joyner said in the release. “We will continue our commitment to work with the (Federal Bureau of Investigation) to root out corruption.”
Robert Tucker Craig, of Starkville, pleaded guilty on Feb. 19 to three counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 38 public schools and one count of obstruction for the deletion of related evidence in the Southern District of Mississippi.
Maurice Daniel Bowering Jr., of Hattiesburg, pleaded guilty March 6 to five counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 50 public schools in the Southern District Court of Mississippi. Patrick Joseph Stewart, also of Hattiesburg, pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging and one count of wire fraud that affected sales to at least 69 public schools in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Wilder Fitness Equipment pleaded guilty Feb. 20 to two counts of bid rigging affecting sales to at least 60 public schools in the Northern District of Mississippi.
Craig, Bowering, Heflin, Stewart and Wilder Fitness equipment entered into conspiracies together in which they agreed to submit complementary bids to the public schools, the press release said, along with two other co-conspirators, Charles Ferrell Trimm and Bradley D. Willcutt. Trimm and Willcutt previously pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Mississippi in May 2024 and September 2024, respectively, the release said.
Bid rigging is a violation of the Sherman Act, punishable by up to 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. A federal district court judge will determine the sentences.
Heflin was employed by Sports Facilities Companies – a third party that is contracted to manage the city’s parks, Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch on Thursday. SFC has managed the city’s parks since 2021.
Heflin’s last day of servicing the city through SFC was Monday, Spruill said, and the incidents in question occurred prior to his SFC work with the city’s parks.
“(SFC) notified us appropriately,” Spruill said. “They took the action that was, in my opinion … appropriate. And he submitted his resignation notice to them. They then have backfilled for that position, which right now for us is a critical time, because we’re just starting to ramp up tournaments and etc. at our recreation facilities.”
SFC confirmed Heflin is no longer employed by the company.
“We are aware of the situation and take these matters very seriously,” the company said in a statement emailed to The Dispatch on Thursday. “We are actively working with the City of Starkville to begin a thorough search for a new General Manager, and our focus remains on supporting our existing team and the community we serve.”
Heflin is listed as the general manager of Starkville Parks and Recreation on the city’s website. He worked as the assistant general manager before being promoted earlier this year, the site said, and he worked in sporting good sales for 24 years prior to his time there.
The guilty pleas resulted from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Anyone with information about this investigation or other procurement fraud schemes should notify the Procurement Collusion Strike Force at justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint.
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