President Trump issues pardon to Oak View Group co-founder Tim Leiweke
Jesus Reyes
WASHINGTON D.C. (KESQ) – President Donald Trump issued a “full and unconditional pardon” for Oak View Group co-founder Tim Leiweke, who was indicted by the Justice Department in July for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena in Texas.
Timothy Joseph Leiweke – 508_0Download
“As outlined in the indictment, the Defendant rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater said in a statement at the time.
Leiweke previously pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The pardon is dated Tuesday.
Leiweke was the former CEO of the OVG, which owns Acrisure Arena and the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
He stepped down as CEO after his indictment, but remained a shareholder and transitioned to vice chairman of the board of directors, according to CNBC.
OVG previously agreed to pay $15 million in penalties in connection with the allegations against Leiweke.
“We are happy for Tim that he can now put this matter behind him,” a spokesperson for the venue management company said in a statement Wednesday. “OVG has remained steadfastly focused on delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients under the leadership of our CEO Chris Granger.”
OVG named Chris Granger as the new CEO on Tuesday.