Jessica Tillipman: The Ten Longest FCPA-Related Prison Sentences

The DOJ’s Yates Memo is nearly a year old. The anti-corruption and compliance communities are still wondering what impact it will have on individual responsibility for white collar crimes. That in turn has brought more interest about past prison sentences for FCPA offenses and what future defendants might expect when sentenced.

Although there is significant data available to the public about past prison sentences, it hasn’t (to my knowledge) been compiled in a way that may be useful to readers of the FCPA Blog.

So, thanks to invaluable research assistance from Samantha Block (a student at GW Law), we’ve created a list of the ten longest FCPA-related prison sentences.

When compiling the list, there were a surprising number of decisions to make and to some extent, the list is interpretive. Others might use different criteria and come up with a different list of the longest FCPA-related prison sentences.

For example, most of the defendants on this list were also convicted of other offenses, such as conspiracy, money laundering, Travel Act violations, obstruction, export act offenses, and so on.

Because federal defendants are typically sentenced at one time on all counts they’re convicted of, it is often difficult or even impossible to separate their prison time for individual criminal counts, such as FCPA offenses.

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How does that translate into this list?

Joel Esquenazi and Carlos Rodriguez, for example, who appear at number 1 and number 4 on the list, were both convicted of and sentenced on seven substantive FCPA counts and one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and commit wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and 12 counts of money laundering.

William Jefferson, the former nine-term congressman who’s number 2 on the list, was convicted and sentenced on one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and eleven other corruption charges. He was acquitted of the single substantive FCPA charge he faced.

Charles Jumet, number 3 on our list, was charged with an FCPA conspiracy and making false statements to federal investigators. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on the single FCPA conspiracy count.

Herbert Steindler — tied at number 4 on our list and sentenced back in 1994 — pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. He was charged with six counts of FCPA anti-bribery violations, one count of violating the FCPA books and records provisions, 16 counts of mail fraud, six counts of wire fraud, and 57 counts of money laundering.

Douglas Murphy and David Kay — numbers 5 and 9 on our list, were both convicted of twelve counts of violating the FCPA, and charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Shu Quan-Sheng is number 6 on our list. He pleaded guilty to one count of violating the FCPA and two counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act.

Benito Chinea and Joseph DeMeneses, tied for number 7, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act.

Jorge Granados, number 8, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. He had been indicted on 19 counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, and violations of the FCPA.

John Webster Warwick, tied at number 9, was Charles Jumet’s co-defendant. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Jose Alejandro Hurtado, tied for number 10, pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy and substantive violations of the FCPA, the Travel Act, and money laundering laws.

Faheem Mousa Salem, also tied for number 10, pleaded guilty to violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA.

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One FCPA defendant made the list with his original sentence but dropped out due to later sentence reductions. Albert “Jack” Stanley was originally sentenced to 84 months in prison. His sentence was later reduced to 30 months because of his cooperation.

Two defendants received long prison sentences in cases related to FCPA offenses but weren’t charged under the FCPA because they were bribe takers and not payers. Jean Rene Duperval received 108 months in 2012 and Asem Elgawhary received 42 months in 2015.

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The Ten Longest FCPA-Related Prison Sentences

1. Joel Esquenazi: 180 months (2011)

2. William Jefferson: 156 months (2009)

3. Charles Paul Edward Jumet: 87 months (2010)

4. Carlos Rodriguez: 84 months (2011)

4. Herbert Steindler: 84 months (1994)

5. Douglas Murphy: 63 months (2005)

6. Shu Quan-Sheng: 51 months (2009)

7. Benito Chinea: 48 months (2015)

7. Joseph Demeneses: 48 months (2015)

8. Jorge Granados: 46 months (2011)

9. David Kay: 37 months (2005)

9. John Webster Warwick: 37 months (2010)

10. Jose Alejandro Hurtado: 36 months (2015)

10. Faheem Mousa Salam: 36 months (2007)

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Jessica Tillipman is a Senior Editor of the FCPA Blog and Assistant Dean at The George Washington University Law School. You can follow her on Twitter at @jtillipman.    

The author is grateful for the assistance of Samantha Block, a second-year law student at The George Washington University Law School, in researching this post.