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TWO FORMER HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES SENTENCED TO SERVE TIME IN WASHINGTON — Two former high-ranking employees of facilities operations at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan, by Judge George B. Daniels today for their participation in two separate conspiracies involving kickbacks, the Department of Justice announced today. Santo Saglimbeni, a former vice president of facilities operations at NYPH, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 criminal fine. Emilio “Tony” Figueroa, a former director of facilities operations at NYPH, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 criminal fine. Saglimbeni and Figueroa were ordered to jointly and severally pay $603,982 in total restitution to NYPH. Judge Daniels also entered a preliminary order of forfeiture for $2.3 million, which included certain bank accounts into which the kickback money from one of the schemes was deposited, as well as a parcel of land purchased with a portion of the kickback money, in Southampton, N.Y. “Today’s sentences are consistent with the serious nature of the crimes for which the individuals were convicted,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joseph Wayland in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The division remains committed to holding accountable corrupt purchasing officials who undermine the competitive bidding process for their personal gain.” On Feb. 2, 2012, after a four-week trial, Saglimbeni and Figueroa, along with Michael Yaron and two companies owned by him—Cambridge Environmental & Construction Corp., doing business as National Environmental Associates (Cambridge/NEA), and Oxford Construction & Development Corp.; Moshe Buchnik, the president of an asbestos abatement company doing business at NYPH; and Artech Corp., a sham company Saglimbeni created in the name of his mother, were each convicted of conspiracy to defraud NYPH. Additionally, Yaron, Cambridge/NEA, Oxford, Buchnik, Saglimbeni and Artech were also convicted of a wire fraud violation. According to evidence presented at trial, the scheme to defraud NYPH centered on Saglimbeni, who with the assistance of Figueroa, awarded asbestos abatement, air monitoring and general construction contracts to Yaron, Buchnik and their companies in return for more than $2.3 million in kickbacks paid to Saglimbeni. A portion of those kickbacks were funneled by Yaron to Saglimbeni through Artech. On July 31, 2012, Saglimbeni and Figueroa each pleaded guilty to additional mail fraud conspiracy and mail fraud violations. These charges were part of the same indictment but had been severed and were scheduled for a separate trial. According to the superseding indictment, the fraud scheme also centered on Saglimbeni, who with the assistance of Figueroa, awarded heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) contracts to an HVAC vendor in return for kickbacks in the form of cash goods and services paid to Saglimbeni and Figueroa. On July 10, 2012, Yaron, Buchnik and the three companies were sentenced for their respective roles in the scheme. Yaron was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine. Buchnik was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine. Yaron’s companies, Cambridge/NEA and Oxford Construction, were each sentenced to pay a $1 million criminal fine. Artech was also sentenced to pay a $1 million criminal fine. Including Saglimbeni and Figueroa, 15 individuals and six companies have been convicted or pleaded guilty as a result of this investigation and have been sentenced to pay a total of more than $4 million in criminal fines and to serve more than 16 years in prison. This antitrust investigation of bid rigging, fraud, bribery and tax-related offenses relating to the award of contracts by the facilities operations department of NYPH was conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office with the assistance of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation’s New York Field Office. The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also provided assistance. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, bribery, tax offenses or fraud related at NYPH should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office of the at 212-335-8000, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, or call the FBI’s New York Division at 212-384-1000. |
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Tag Archives: Federal Bureau of Investigation
Taiwan Auto Lights Manufacturer and its California Distributor Plead Guilty in Price Fixing Conspiracy
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 WWW.JUSTICE.GOV |
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TAIWAN AUTO LIGHTS MANUFACTURER AND ITS CALIFORNIA DISTRIBUTOR Companies Sentenced to Pay a Total of $5 Million in Criminal Fines WASHINGTON — A Taiwan aftermarket auto lights manufacturer and its U.S. distributor pleaded guilty to an indictment charging them with participating in a seven-year, international conspiracy to fix the prices of aftermarket auto lights, and were sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the Department of Justice announced. Aftermarket auto lights are incorporated into an automobile after its original sale, often as repairs following a collision or as accessories and upgrades. Tainan County, Taiwan-based Eagle Eyes Traffic Industrial Co. Ltd., and its U.S. subsidiary, Chino, Calif.-based E-Lite Automotive Inc., were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg to pay a total of $5 million in criminal fines. According to a one-count superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, on Nov. 30, 2011, Eagle Eyes and E-Lite conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of aftermarket auto lights. Eagle Eyes participated in the conspiracy from about July 2001 until about September 2008, and E-Lite participated from about March 2006 until about September 2008. “The conspirators engaged in an international price-fixing scheme that undermined competition in the aftermarket auto lights industry,” said Joseph Wayland, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “As a result of the division’s vigorous enforcement efforts, four corporations and five executives have been charged.” According to court documents, the conspiracy was carried out by the two highest-ranking officers of Eagle Eyes—its chairman, Yu-Chu Lin, and vice chairman, Homy Hong-Ming Hsu— who were both charged along with Eagle Eyes and E-Lite in the superseding indictment. The executives met with other co-conspirators and agreed to charge prices of aftermarket auto lights according to jointly-determined formulas. The conspirators issued price announcements to customers in accordance with the jointly-determined price structure, and collected and exchanged information on prices for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the conspiracy. The conspirators also took steps to conceal their actions throughout the duration of the conspiracy. In addition to today’s pleas, two other corporations have also pleaded guilty. On Oct. 4, 2011, Sabry Lee pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $200,000 criminal fine. On Nov. 15, 2011, Maxzone pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $43 million criminal fine. Chairman Lin, who resides in Taiwan, remains a fugitive. Vice Chairman Hsu, who was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport over a year ago, pleaded guilty on Sept. 25, 2012. Hsu is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22, 2013. In addition to Homy Hsu, three individuals have also pleaded guilty. Shiu-Min Hsu, the former chairman of Depo Auto Parts Industrial Co. Ltd., a Taiwan manufacturer of aftermarket auto lights, pleaded guilty on March 20, 2012, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2013. Chien Chung Chen, aka Andrew Chen, the former executive vice president of Sabry Lee (U.S.A.) Inc., a U.S. distributor of aftermarket auto lights, pleaded guilty on June 7, 2011. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15, 2013. Polo Shu-Sheng Hsu, the highest-ranking officer of Maxzone Vehicle Lighting Corp., another U.S. distributor of aftermarket auto lights, pleaded guilty on March 29, 2011, served his sentence of 180 days in prison and paid a $25,000 criminal fine. Eagle Eyes and E-Lite are charged with violating the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $100 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. This case is part of an investigation being conducted by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI in San Francisco. Anyone with information concerning illegal or anticompetitive conduct in the aftermarket auto lights industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office at 415-436-6660 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm. |
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Army Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Facilitating Theft of Fuel in Afghanistan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Army Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Facilitating Theft of Fuel in Afghanistan
Second Guilty Plea Stemming from an Investigation of Fuel Theft at FOB Fenty in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON – U.S. Army Sergeant Christopher Weaver pleaded guilty today to bribery charges for his role in the theft of fuel at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty, near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer.
Weaver, 29, of Fort Carson, Colo., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marcia S. Krieger in the District of Colorado to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of bribery.
Weaver’s plea is the second guilty plea arising from an investigation into fuel thefts at FOB Fenty. On Aug. 3, 2012, Weaver’s co-conspirator Jonathan Hightower, 30, of Houston, pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme.
According to court documents, from approximately January 2010 through June 2010, Weaver and Hightower were involved in overseeing the delivery of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases. As part of this process, documents generally described as “transportation movement requests” (TMRs) were created, which authorized the movement of the fuel. Weaver pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy in which fraudulent TMRs, which purported to authorize the transport of fuel from FOB Fenty to other military bases, were created even though no legitimate fuel transportation was required. After the trucks were filled with fuel, these fraudulent documents were used by the drivers of the fuel trucks at FOB Fenty’s departure checkpoint in order to justify the trucks’ departures from FOB Fenty. In truth, according to court documents, the fuel was simply stolen.
Weaver pleaded guilty to receiving payments from a representative of a military contractor that was responsible for transporting fuel in Afghanistan in exchange for facilitating the theft of approximately 100 fuel trucks. According to Weaver’s signed plea agreement, the loss to the United States as a result of the scheme was in excess of $1.5 million. According to court documents, Weaver sent cash back from Afghanistan to the United States, in part, by mailing the money inside a stuffed bear.
According to court documents, Hightower worked in Afghanistan as an employee of FLUOR Inc., a U.S. government contractor, from January 2010 to June 2010, where he served as a petroleum supply specialist and was responsible for receiving and disbursing fuel – primarily jet fuel known as JP-8 – for use at FOB Fenty or for transport to other military bases. According to court documents, Hightower, Weaver and others would receive cash from a representative of a military contractor that was responsible for transporting fuel in Afghanistan, and the money would be apportioned among the conspirators.
Hightower pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martinez in the District of Colorado to two counts of conspiracy to receive bribes – one count involving his conspiracy with Weaver, and another count involving his conspiracy with another alleged co-conspirator at FOB Fenty. Hightower admitted facilitating the theft of over 100 trucks of fuel and a loss to the United States in excess of $1.5 million.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, formerly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Special Trial Attorney Mark H. Dubester of the Fraud Section. The cases were investigated by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; the Department of the Army, Criminal Investigations Division; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the FBI; and the Department of the Air Force, Office of Special Investigations. Valuable assistance was also provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Two U.S. Contractor Employees Sentenced for Kickback Conspiracy and Tax Crimes Related to Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Two U.S. Contractor Employees Sentenced for Kickback Conspiracy and Tax Crimes Related to Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
WASHINGTON – Two former employees of The Parsons Company, an international engineering and construction firm, were sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of Alabama for their participation in a kickback conspiracy in Iraq and related tax crimes, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce White Vance.
Billy Joe Hunt, 57, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon in federal court in Huntsville, Ala., to 15 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $66,212 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and forfeiture of $236,472. Gaines R. Newell Jr., 53, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Virginia Hopkins in federal court in Birmingham, Ala., to 27 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $1,102,115 in restitution ($861,027 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and $241,088 to the IRS) and forfeiture of $861,027.
On May 8, 2012, Hunt pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and pay kickbacks, and one count of subscribing a false tax return. On April 10, 2012, Newell pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and to pay kickbacks, and one count of subscribing a false tax return.
According to court documents, Newell and Hunt were employed by Parsons in Iraq as program manager and deputy program manager, respectively, under a contract that Parsons held to support the Coalition Munitions Clearance Program operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Huntsville. The Coalition Munitions Program sought to preclude insurgents and other unfriendly groups from getting munitions that had been stockpiled, abandoned or seized, and using them against Coalition forces or the Iraqi public. In their plea proceedings, Newell and Hunt admitted taking over $1 million in kickbacks from subcontractors from 2005 to 2007, in return for arranging to award contracts on the munitions clearance program to subcontractors. Newell and Hunt also admitted filing false federal income tax returns by not disclosing kickback income.
On May 21, 2012, Hunt and Newell’s co-conspirator Ahmed Sarchil Kazzaz, 45, pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme. Kazzaz and his business, Leadstay Company, were indicted in the Northern District of Alabama in September 2011 for paying over $947,000 in kickbacks to Newell and Hunt. According to the plea agreement, between March 2006 and June 2007, Kazzaz agreed to pay kickbacks to Newell and Hunt totaling 13 percent of the amounts paid by Parsons, and thus obtained over $23 million in subcontracts providing materials and equipment to Parsons. After Kazzaz’s arrest in Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2011, this case was transferred to the Central District of California, where Kazzaz pleaded guilty. His sentencing is set for Oct. 29, 2012 before U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in the Central District of California.
The cases are being prosecuted by Catherine Votaw, Director of Procurement Fraud for the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Estes of the Northern District of Alabama. The investigation was handled by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the IRS-Criminal Investigations Division and the FBI.
PA Company Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging at Tax Lien Auctions in New Jersey
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PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATION PLEADS GUILTY TO BID RIGGING AT WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania corporation pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to rig bids for the sale of tax liens auctioned by municipalities throughout New Jersey, the Department of Justice announced. A felony charge was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, against Crusader Servicing Corp., of Jenkintown, Pa. According to the felony charge, from at least as early as 1998 until September 2006, Crusader participated in a conspiracy to rig bids at auctions for the sale of municipal tax liens in New Jersey by agreeing to allocate among certain bidders which liens each would bid on. The department said that Crusader submitted bids in accordance with their agreements and purchased tax liens at collusive and non-competitive interest rates. “The conspirators agreed to not compete with one another at these tax lien auctions, depriving struggling homeowners of a competitive interest rate,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s continuing efforts to prosecute those who manipulate the competitive process in order to harm home and property owners.” The department said that the primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and restrain competition to obtain selected municipal tax liens offered at public auctions at non-competitive interest rates. When the owner of real property fails to pay taxes on that property, the municipality in which the property is located may attach a lien for the amount of the unpaid taxes. If the taxes remain unpaid after a waiting period, the lien may be sold at auction. State law requires that investors bid on the interest rate delinquent homeowners will pay upon redemption. By law, the bid opens at 18 percent interest and, through a competitive bidding process, can be driven down to zero percent. If a lien remains unpaid after a certain period of time, the investor who purchased the lien may begin foreclosure proceedings against the property to which the lien is attached. According to the court documents, Crusader conspired with others not to bid against one another at municipal tax lien auctions in New Jersey. Since the conspiracy permitted the conspirators to purchase tax liens with limited competition, each conspirator was able to obtain liens which earned a higher interest rate. Property owners were therefore made to pay higher interest on their tax debts than they would have paid had their liens been purchased in open and honest competition. A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine for a Sherman Act violation may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum. Today’s plea is the 10th guilty plea resulting from an ongoing investigation into bid rigging or fraud related to municipal tax lien auctions. Eight individuals — Isadore H. May, Richard J. Pisciotta Jr., William A. Collins, Robert W. Stein, David M. Farber, Robert E. Rothman, Stephen E. Hruby and David Butler — and one company, DSBD LLC, have previously pleaded guilty as part of this investigation. Today’s charge is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov. The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office and the FBI’s Atlantic City, N.J. office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to municipal tax lien auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-335-8000, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency at 609-677-6400. |
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Taiwan-based liquid crystal display (LCD) producer, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to pay a $500 million criminal fine for a five-year conspiracy to fix LCD panels sold worldwide
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TAIWAN-BASED AU OPTRONICS CORPORATION SENTENCED TO PAY Company Also Sentenced to Adopt Antitrust Compliance Program; Former Top Executives Each Sentenced to Serve Three Years in Prison and to Pay Criminal Fine WASHINGTON — AU Optronics Corporation, a Taiwan-based liquid crystal display (LCD) producer, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco to pay a $500 million criminal fine for its participation in a five-year conspiracy to fix the prices of thin-film transistor LCD panels sold worldwide, the Department of Justice announced. Its American subsidiary and two former top executives were also sentenced today. The two executives were sentenced to serve prison time and to pay criminal fines for their roles in the conspiracy. The $500 million fine matches the largest fine imposed against a company for violating the U.S. antitrust laws. Today’s sentencing took place before Judge Susan Illston. Along with the criminal fine, AU Optronics Corporation was also sentenced to print advertisements in three major trade publications in the United States and Taiwan acknowledging its convictions and punishments and the remedial steps it has taken as a result of its conviction. The company and its American subsidiary, AU Optronics Corporation America, were also placed on probation for three years, required to adopt an antitrust compliance program and to appoint an independent corporate compliance monitor. “This long-running price-fixing conspiracy resulted in every family, school, business, charity and government agency who bought notebook computers, computer monitors and LCD televisions during the conspiracy to pay more for these products,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The Antitrust Division will continue to pursue vigorously international cartels that target American consumers and rob them of their hard earned money.” Former AU Optronics Corporation president Hsuan Bin Chen was sentenced to serve three years in prison and to pay a $200,000 criminal fine. Former AU Optronics Corporation executive vice president Hui Hsiung was also sentenced to serve three years in prison and to pay a $200,000 criminal fine. “The number of criminal antitrust cases filed has significantly increased over the last five years, and so has the dedication of FBI resources to these important investigations. The FBI remains committed to thwarting fraud and corruption in the United States and around the world. To that end, we have agents, analysts and professional staff in all of our 56 Field Offices and 63 LEGATs that are committed to fighting these crimes wherever they are found and at whatever level they are found. I would like to commend the employees of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, for their fine work on this very important antitrust investigation. This team has devoted countless hours to the investigation and I appreciate their devotion to the mission,” said Assistant Director Ronald T. Hosko, of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. The companies and former executives were found guilty on March 13, 2012, following an eight-week trial. The indictment charged that AU Optronics Corporation participated in the worldwide price-fixing conspiracy from Sept. 14, 2001, to Dec. 1, 2006, and that its subsidiary joined the conspiracy as early as spring 2003. The jury found that the convicted companies and former executives fixed the prices of LCD panels sold into the United States. The prices were fixed during monthly meetings with their competitors secretly held in hotel conference rooms, karaoke bars and tea rooms around Taiwan. LCD panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions and other electronic devices. By the end of the conspiracy, the worldwide market for LCD panels was valued at $70 billion annually. The LCD price-fixing conspiracy affected some of the largest computer manufacturers in the world, including Hewlett Packard, Dell and Apple. Including today’s sentences, eight companies have been convicted of charges arising out of the department’s ongoing investigation and have been sentenced to pay criminal fines totaling $1.39 billion. All together, 22 executives have been charged. Including today’s sentences, 12 executives have been convicted and have been sentenced to serve a combined total of 4,871 days in prison. Today’s charges are the result of a joint investigation by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office and the FBI in San Francisco. Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the LCD industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office at 415-436-6660 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm. |
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