Business Crimes Hotline

UTAH

Utah Gold and Silver Refinery Fined $3 Million

Johnson Matthey Inc. (JMI), which operates a precious metals refining facility in Salt Lake City, was sentenced to pay a $3 million criminal fine for a felony violation of the Clean Water Act. Of that amount, $750,000 will fund various environmental projects in Utah that are administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company and its employees violated the Clean Water Act by making false statements to government officials regarding JMI's discharge of selenium, a pollutant that is a byproduct of the refining process. An audit also revealed that employees had screened sample discharges before submitting them to an outside laboratory for analysis, which violated the company's discharge permit.

VIRGINIA

PurchasePro, Inc. Founder and Former CEO Sentenced For Securities Fraud

Charles E. “Junior” Johnson, the founder and former CEO of PurchasePro, Inc., was sentenced to nine years in prison for securities fraud, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. The sentence was substantially less than the 16 to 17 1/2 years that prosecutors sought because the judge used an older version of the Sentencing Guidelines that called for a more lenient sentence. In addition to the fraud charges, Johnson was convicted of obstruction of justice for an unsuccessful attempt during his first trial to submit fabricated e-mails into evidence at trial. Johnson's lawyers caught him and resigned from the case, which resulted in a mistrial. Johnson's conviction concludes a seven-year investigation into the PurchasePro fraud.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Siemens Agrees to Pay $800 Million

Siemens AG and three of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $800 million to the DOJ and the SEC for violations of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Of that amount, $450 million will be paid to the DOJ as a criminal fine and $350 million will go to the SEC to disgorge Siemens' profits. Both penalties are unprecedented and are in addition to another $800 million paid by Siemens to German authorities, which brings the total paid by Siemens to $1.6 billion. In addition to paying the fine, Siemens has agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a four-year period, during which a monitor will oversee the continued implementation and maintenance of Siemens' compliance program. The monitor will also make periodic reports to the company and the DOJ.

ILLINOIS

Two Men Sentenced for Role in Aegis Tax Fraud Conspiracy

Timothy Shawn Dunn and Robert W. Hopper were sentenced to 210 and 200 months in prison respectively, for their roles in a tax fraud conspiracy that resulted in a $600 million tax loss to the United States. The tax fraud employed a network of promoters, sub-promoters, managers, attorneys, and accountants, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Both men were convicted in an 11-week trial, and the investigation, dubbed “Operation Trust Me,” has resulted in more than 30 convictions nationwide and charges against 30 others. Dunn and Hopper were also ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal, unpaid federal taxes.

UTAH

Utah Gold and Silver Refinery Fined $3 Million

Johnson Matthey Inc. (JMI), which operates a precious metals refining facility in Salt Lake City, was sentenced to pay a $3 million criminal fine for a felony violation of the Clean Water Act. Of that amount, $750,000 will fund various environmental projects in Utah that are administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The company and its employees violated the Clean Water Act by making false statements to government officials regarding JMI's discharge of selenium, a pollutant that is a byproduct of the refining process. An audit also revealed that employees had screened sample discharges before submitting them to an outside laboratory for analysis, which violated the company's discharge permit.

VIRGINIA

PurchasePro, Inc. Founder and Former CEO Sentenced For Securities Fraud

Charles E. “Junior” Johnson, the founder and former CEO of PurchasePro, Inc., was sentenced to nine years in prison for securities fraud, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. The sentence was substantially less than the 16 to 17 1/2 years that prosecutors sought because the judge used an older version of the Sentencing Guidelines that called for a more lenient sentence. In addition to the fraud charges, Johnson was convicted of obstruction of justice for an unsuccessful attempt during his first trial to submit fabricated e-mails into evidence at trial. Johnson's lawyers caught him and resigned from the case, which resulted in a mistrial. Johnson's conviction concludes a seven-year investigation into the PurchasePro fraud.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Siemens Agrees to Pay $800 Million

Siemens AG and three of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay $800 million to the DOJ and the SEC for violations of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Of that amount, $450 million will be paid to the DOJ as a criminal fine and $350 million will go to the SEC to disgorge Siemens' profits. Both penalties are unprecedented and are in addition to another $800 million paid by Siemens to German authorities, which brings the total paid by Siemens to $1.6 billion. In addition to paying the fine, Siemens has agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a four-year period, during which a monitor will oversee the continued implementation and maintenance of Siemens' compliance program. The monitor will also make periodic reports to the company and the DOJ.