In U.S. v. Grimm et al., Second Circuit Court of Appeals explained its earlier decision to reverse the municipal bond bid-rigging convictions of three former General Electric Co. officials. The three former GE executives were accused of paying kickbacks to brokers as part of a scheme that cheated cities and towns out of funds for public works projects. The prosecutors chose to bring conspiracy charges against the executives based on artificially low interest payments that GE allegedly paid to municipalities. According to the prosecution, each time such payment was made, the statute of limitations started. Second Circuit disagreed, holding that the prosecutors’ characterization of the alleged scheme as continuing was an improper attempt to evade the statute of limitations. The court further said that payments did not prolong the conspiracy because they were made unilaterally and over a long period of time, so they were not criminal themselves, but were ordinary commercial obligations. According to the court, the interest rate payments were the result of a completed conspiracy, not in furtherance of an ongoing one.