Competition Policy International: US: New antitrust firm GeyerGorey snags DOJ lawyers after office closures
Tag Archives: Cash Smuggling
Main Justice: Policy Politics and the Law: Former DOJ Attorneys Aim For New Model With GeyerGorey LLP Law Firm
Antitrust Monitor Blog: Influential Think Tank and Opinion Driver Recommends Harsher Antitrust Fines
The American Antitrust Institute, a Washington D.C. organization, has written a letter to the United States Sentencing Commission recommending that fines for antitrust violations be increased. The recommendation grows out of work done by Professors John Connor and Bob Lande, who have been studying whether the penalties (including fines, jail time, and civil liability) adequately deter would-be price fixers. Their study, which looks at a significant amount of data over many years, suggests that price fixing is under-deterred, and that it therefore can be a rational business decision for firms to illegally fix prices, even in the current era of large fines, big jail sentences and private treble damages cases. They specifically point out that while the Guidelines assume that price fixing raises prices by an average of 10% over what prices would be in a competitive market, there is evidence that this estimate is too low, and should be revised to 20%, if not higher.
http://www.antitrustinstitute.
The Hill: Lobbying World
Click Here: The Hill: Lobbying World (June 25, 2013)
GeyerGorey LLP Opens New York Office
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Feb. 18, 2013 – WASHINGTON — GeyerGorey LLP today announced the opening of a new office in New York. This is the firm’s fourth office. The New York office now joins with the firm’s Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Boston offices in providing international and inside-the-beltway experience to individuals and companies that have become — or wish to avoid becoming — the subject of federal criminal law enforcement agency interest. Partner Robert J. Zastrow, resident in the Boston office, will oversee client matters in New York.
GeyerGorey LLP aims to meet the needs of companies for advice and training in compliance with federal criminal laws and in the detection of wrongdoing by corporate employees. The firm also specializes in the defense of white-collar criminal cases. The firm’s Web site may be found at www.GeyerGorey.com.
The New York office is located at 112 W. 34th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10120. The office telephone number is (212) 920-0676. For further information, please call Robert Zastrow at (212) 920-0676 or send an email to [email protected].
Former Department of Defense Contractor Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Smuggling Kickback Proceeds from Afghanistan to the United States
A former employee of a Department of Defense contracting company at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for attempting to smuggle $150,000 in kickback proceeds he received for steering U.S. government subcontracts to an Afghan company, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom of the District of Kansas.
Donald Gene Garst, 51, of Topeka, Kan., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson in Topeka. In addition to his prison term, Garst was sentenced to serve one year of supervised release and was ordered to pay a fine of $52,117. The department previously forfeited the $150,000 Garst had attempted to smuggle into the United States.
Garst pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2012, to a one-count information charging him with bulk cash smuggling. According to court documents, Garst was employed by a private U.S. company that was contracted by the U.S. government and its armed forces at Bagram Airfield from January 2009 to May 2011. Garst was involved in identifying, evaluating and monitoring subcontracts awarded to Afghan companies by his employer, and he used his position to meet executives of an Afghan construction company called Somo Logistics. Garst then entered into an agreement with the Afghans under which he would receive kickback payments on a contract-by-contract basis in return for treating Somo Logisitcs favorably in the contracting process.
In December 2010, Garst accepted a kickback for $60,000 on the first subcontract awarded to Somo Logistics. The subcontract was for the term lease of heavy equipment meant to be used for construction on Bagram Airfield. Garst hand-carried approximately $20,000 of the kickback proceeds into the United States, and he received the remainder via a series of structured wire transfers from Somo Logistics executives.
In May 2011, Garst accepted a $150,000 kickback for a second subcontract for the lease of heavy construction equipment. Garst shipped the $150,000 in cash to the United States, and his failure to declare the value of the shipment was discovered by law enforcement.
Garst had further agreed to receive $400,000 on a third subcontract, but his scheme was discovered by law enforcement before he could receive that payment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Trial Attorney Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by Special Agents with the Army Criminal Investigations Division and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, with assistance from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and the FBI.
IG report: Iraqi auditors point to huge money laundering ($800 million per week)
10/30/2012 IG report: Iraqi auditors point to huge money laundering Stars and Stripes
“Iraqi auditors believe as much as $800 million in U.S. dollars is being sent out of the country illegally each week, draining it of hard currency, according to a report by American inspectors released Tuesday.
The findings point to widespread money laundering and could focus further attention on oversight at Iraq’s central bank, which is at the heart of a probe into alleged financial wrongdoing involving its former governor and other top officials.
The U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction said in a report that auditors in Baghdad fear up to 80 percent of an estimated $1 billion leaving the country weekly lacks proper documentation.
U.S. Army Master Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.S. Government
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
U.S. Army Master Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.S. Government
WASHINGTON – A U.S. Army master sergeant pleaded guilty today to accepting thousands of dollars in gratuities from contractors during his deployment to Iraq as a field ordering officer at a forward operating base in Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina William N. Nettles.
Julio Soto Jr., 52, of Columbus, Ga., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Chief Judge Margaret B. Seymour in the District of South Carolina to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to accept illegal gratuities.
According to court documents, Soto was a master sergeant in the U.S. Army, deployed to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hammer in Iraq, as a field ordering officer (FOO), a public official. FOO funds are used to purchase miscellaneous items and supplies such as paint, lumber and plywood from local vendors. It is a violation of federal law for field ordering officers to accept gratuities from contractors dependent upon them for contracts.
In or about March 2007 through October 2008, Soto, along with an alleged U.S. Army co-conspirator, was involved with the construction of a government building at FOB Hammer by local Iraqi contractors. Soto and his alleged co-conspirator unlawfully sought, received and accepted illegal gratuities for helping Iraqi contractors gain U.S. government contracts, and then purchased U.S. Postal money orders with the illegal proceeds and mailed them back to the United States.
At sentencing, Soto faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or twice the pecuniary gain or loss, and up to three years of supervised release. As part of his plea agreement, Soto agreed to pay $62,542 plus interest in restitution to the United States.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), and by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the District of South Carolina. The case is being investigated by SIGIR, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.