California resident James Sogas agreed to a seven-month sentence and a $250,000 criminal fine under a plea deal cut with the US Department of Justice, which broke the case open three years ago. A court must now approve the deal.
The case now amounts to 17 individuals charged and $731m in fines, with DRAM vendors hit including Samsung, Hynix, Micron and Infineon. Sogas is the first Elpida executive to be charged, though he has agreed to help Justice continue its prosecution of the case as part of his plea.
