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Second Brocade Options Backdating Prosecution Slims Down
The prosecution of former Brocade HR vice president Stephanie Jensen for options backdating seems to be on the South Beach diet. Prosecutors disclosed they planned to drop four charges from the original indictment, after earlier dismissing two others, so that she will only face two counts at trial. Earlier, the company’s CEO, Gregory Reyes, was…
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The Decline in Corporate Fraud Prosecutions
The American Lawyer has a detailed article (here) What’s Behind the Drop in Corporate Fraud Indictments describing what it calls the decline in prosecutions of corporations and senior officers for fraud since the heyday of the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force. The article and a supporting spreadsheet (here) provides a detailed look at corporate prosecutions…
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Willbros Set to Settle FCPA Investigations
Energy services firm Willbros Group Inc. disclosed in its third quarter 10-Q (here) that it has reached a tentative settlement with the Department of Justice and the SEC over violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The bribes involved former subsidiaries operating in Nigeria, Bolivia and Ecuador, and the company will enter into a three-year…
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Former Federal Prosecutor Acquitted on Obstruction Charges
Former assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino and a former State Department security officer were acquitted of all charges relating to their alleged obstruction of justice for not turning over evidence in the first post-September 11 terrorism trial. Three of the four defendants were convicted in the original case, U.S. v. Koubriti, the so-called "Detroit Terrorism…
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Ryan Denied Bail Pending Consideration of Supreme Court Appeal
Former Illinois Governor George Ryan is likely facing the beginning of his six year prison term on November 6 when Seventh Circuit Judge Diane Wood denied his request for bail pending the filing and consideration of a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court. Ryan and his co-defendant lost the appeal of their convictions on…
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Ingersoll-Rand Settles FCPA Case from Iraq Oil-for-Food Program Bribery
Industrial manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand Co. settled criminal and civil investigations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations related to bribes given to participate in the Iraq Oil-for-Food program, which seemed to generate a fountain of corrupt payments. The bribes involved two foreign subsidiaries, in Ireland and Italy, and Ingersoll-Rand agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (here)…
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Sell on the Dip
There is an investment adage to "buy on the dip," meaning that when the stock market has one of its periodic one-day plunges that appears to be irrational, buy shares to take advantage of the discounted prices. If you know bad news is coming, you can also position yourself to take advantage of it, and…
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The Growing Furor Over the Blackwater Immunity Grants
The grant of immunity by State Department investigators to the Blackwater guards involved in a firefight in Iraq on September 16 that killed a number of civilians is raising a furor on Capitol Hill about who authorized the immunity and whether it was cleared through the Department of Justice. ABC News reports (here) the language…
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The Government is Making Money
Recent false claim settlements will be adding money to the government. Neither of the two recent cases involve criminal allegations. The DOJ reports that "Hexcel Corporation of Stamford, Conn., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act in connection with its role in the manufacture…
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Immunity in the Blackwater Investigation
David Johnston of the New York Times is reporting here that immunity deals were offered to certain Blackwater employees. And it sounds like the immunity may have come from the State Department as opposed to the DOJ. Who gave the immunity, the validity of the immunity, and the evidence procured may remain open questions for…
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