Indian-American entrepreneur Azim Makanojiya has agreed to plead guilty for conspiring to fix prices for customised promotional products, PTI reported. In a statement, the US Justice department said Makanojiya’s company Zaappaaz Inc sold products including wristbands and lanyards online to customers in the United States.

The Justice Department said that he is charged with price fixing in violation of the United States Sherman Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Zaappaaz has also agreed to pay a $1.9 million criminal fine.

The charges filed in court show that the conspirators communicated both in person and online, using encrypted messaging applications like Skype and WhatsApp from as early as 2014 till June 2016, the statement said.

“Schemes like the defendants’ cause financial harm to consumers who purchase goods and services, and to businesses who sell [them] in compliance with the laws of the United States,” Acting US Attorney Abe Martinez said. The plea agreement is subject to the court’s approval.

The 29-year-old’s firm, founded when he was 19 and studying at the University of Houston, had emerged as the largest online seller of silicon wrist bands in the US in 2014. In 2011, it had ranked 31 on the Inc 500 list, an annual catalogue of the top 500 fastest-growing companies in the US.