- Net worth
- Unknown
- Crimes
- conspiracy, corruption, other
- Convicted of
- Conspiracy to restrain trade (bid rigging)
- Original sentence
- N/A
- Time served
- N/A
Background
Timothy Joseph Leiweke is a sports and entertainment executive. He spent four seasons as president of the Denver Nuggets, then served as CEO and president of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and as president and CEO of U.S. Skiing. He is currently CEO of Oak View Group (OVG), whose global headquarters are in Denver. He was charged in the Western District of Texas with conspiracy to restrain trade in connection with the development and management of a multi-purpose arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.
The Case
A federal grand jury indicted Leiweke for orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena project at a public university in Austin, Texas (the arena opened in April 2022 as the Moody Center). According to the indictment, from approximately February 2018 through at least June 2024, Leiweke conspired with the CEO of a competitor so that the competitor would not submit or join an independent bid for the arena. In September 2017 he had learned the competitor was bidding against OVG and wanted to “get them to back down” and “find a way to get [the competitor] some of the business.” By February 2018 he had reached an agreement: the competitor would stand down and in exchange would receive subcontracts on the project. The competitor did not submit a competing bid; OVG submitted the sole qualified bid and won the project, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from it. The conduct violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act; the maximum penalty for an individual is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. OVG and Legends Hospitality agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million in penalties in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment. The Justice Department stated that Leiweke “rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding”; the FBI noted that public contracts are subject to laws requiring an open and competitive bid process to ensure a level playing field. Leiweke received a pardon before sentencing.
The Pardon
On December 2, 2025, President Trump granted Leiweke a full pardon.