Taiwan company, execs guilty of fixing LCD prices

SAN FRANCISCO — A Taiwan company and two of its top executives have been found guilty of working with competitors to inflate prices of liquid screen display screens used in computer monitors and televisions.

Federal jurors in San Francisco on Tuesday convicted the AU Optronics Corp., its U.S. subsidiary and executives Hsuan Bin Chen and Hui Hsiung (shuhng). They were found guilty of violating anti-trust laws.

Jurors couldn't reach a unanimous decision for Steven Leung, resulting in a mistrial. Two other executives were acquitted.

Six other Asian LCD screen makers have pleaded guilty to charges related to the price-fixing and have been ordered to pay fines totaling more than $860 million. AU Optronics was the only one to fight the charges at trial.

That company's lawyer says it plans to appeal.