Another Corporate Executive Indicted for FCPA Violations

The Department of Justice continues to focus on individuals in FCPA cases, consistent with the dictates of the Yates memo. The President of a Maryland based transportation company was named in an eleven count indictment centered on FCPA violations involving an official of the Russian Federation. U.S. v. Lambert, Criminal No. 8:18-cr-00012 (D. Md. Filed January 190, 2018).

Mark Lambert is one of three executives and owners of a transportation company identified in the indictment as Transportation Corporation A. He served as co-president of the firm from January 2010 through September 2016. Identified as a co-conspirator is Daren Condrey, charged separately. Mr. Condrey was also an owner of Transportation Corporation A and served as an executive from August 1998 through October 2014 and as president for a portion of that time period. Co-conspirator One was also an executive at the firm from 1998 through 2009 after which he continued as a consultant until 2011 when he passed away.

The charges center on an arrangement with Vadim Mikerin, a Russian national, who was a director of TENAM Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSC Techsnabexport or TENEX, a firm indirectly owned and controlled by the government of the Russian Federation. TENEX is alleged to have performed functions of the government of the Russian Federation. TENAM, established in October 2010, is the official representative of TENEX in the United States. The subsidiary is owned and controlled by, and performs functions for, the Russian Federation, according to the indictment. Mr. Mikerin, a foreign official, was a resident of Maryland from 2011 through October 2014.

The corrupt scheme at the center of the indictment traces to some point in 2009 when Defendant Lambert and Mr. Condrey leaned that their fellow executive, Co-Conspirator One, had entered into a bribe and kickback arrangement with Mr. Mikerin to secure business for Transportation Corporation A. Specifically, the indictment alleges that “Co-conspirator One explained that the amount of each corrupt payment was based on an agreement with Mikerin to kickback a percentage of certain contract awards that TENEX awarded to Transportation Corporation A to benefit Mikerin, and that Mikerin would help Transportation Corporation A win contract awards with TENEX if such corrupt payments were made.” Defendant Lambert and Mr. Condrey agreed to continue the arrangement.

To conceal the arrangement a number of steps were taken. Those included using certain words or phrases in conjunction with the transactions, preparing fake invoices that purported to be from TENEX to Transportation Corporation A and fraudulently describing services that were never provided by TENEX to Transportation Corporation A. The payments were wired to shell companies in Latvia, Cyprus and Switzerland.

Mr. Lambert was indicted on one count of conspiracy, seven counts of violating the FCPA, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering. The case is pending.

Previously, Mr. Condrey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and commit wire fraud. He is awaiting sentencing. U.S. v. Condrey, No. 8:15-00336 (D. Md. Filed under seal June 15, 2015). Mr. Mikerin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering involving violations of the FCPA. He is currently serving a sentence of forty-eight months in prison. U.S. v. Mikerin, No. 8:14-cr-00529 (D. Md. Filed under seal July 25, 2014).