By Nathan Koppel
A new, ominous milestone has been reached in foreign-bribery prosecutions: a company has been criminally convicted for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
California’s Lindsey Manufacturing Co., which makes electricity transmission equipment, was convicted on six, FCPA-related counts, as were the company’s CEO and CFO.
Here’s a report from the National Law Journal and one from the LA Times.
“Lindsey Manufacturing is the first company to be tried and convicted on FCPA violations, but it will not be the last,” said the DOJ’s Lanny Breuer.
Prosecutors claimed that Lindsey hired a salesman in Mexico to bribe a government official to help Lindsey try to win business from a Mexican-owned power company, the LA Times reports.
Lindsey’s Mexican salesman allegedly bought the official a $297,500 Ferrari, a $1.8 million yacht and also paid off more than $170,000 of the official’s credit card debt, according to the Tiems.
Lindsey CEO Keith Lindsey and CFO Steve Lee face maximum prison sentences of 30 years, the NLJ reports.
Defense attorneys claimed at trial that the Lindsey officials did not know that the Mexican salesman was using his sales commissions to pay bribes, according to the Times.
“In my view, the verdicts are against the weight of the evidence,” said attorney Jan Handzlik, who represents the company. “We are very disappointed by the jury’s verdict and continue to believe in our clients’ innocence.”
MAY 11, 2011, 10:25 AM ET
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So,FCPA vs. RICO ?
