Japanese electronics manufacturer Hitachi Displays Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty of conspiracy to fixating prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels to Dell, and pay a $31 million fine, the United States Department of Justice announced.

Hitachi now joins several other companies that have admitted to being involved in fixing LCD prices, including LG Display Co., Sharp Co., and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd.

“This case should send a strong message to multinational companies operating in the United States that when it comes to enforcing the U.S. antitrust laws we mean business,” said Scott D. Hammond, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the department’s Antitrust Division.

Hitachi is accused of participating in bilateral meetings, conversations and communications in Japan, Korea and the United States to discuss the prices of TFT-LCD to be sold to Dell; agreeing, during those bilateral meetings, conversations and communications, to charge prices of TFT-LCD to be sold to Dell at certain predetermined levels; issuing price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached; and exchanging information on sales of TFT-LCD sold to Dell, for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices.

So far, LG Display was fined $400 million criminal fine, the second largest in the Antitrust Division’s history, Sharp was fined $120 million for conspiracy to fixating the prices of LCDs sold to Dell, Apple and Motorola, and Chunghwa was fined $65 million.

Hitachi has agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice in their ongoing investigation. So far in this case, four individuals have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to serving time in jail.