Daniel Alvirez was the President of an Arkansas company based in Bull Shoals, Arkansas, that manufactured and sold law enforcement and military equipment.
Lee Allen Tolleson was the Director of Acquisitions and Logistics for the same Arkansas company.
According to the allegations in the charging documents, from about May 2009 thorugh about December 2009, Daniel Alvirez, Lee Allen Tolleson, and their co-conspirators sought to enrich themselves by making corrupt payments and attempting to make corrupt payments to the Minister of Defense of Gabon for the purpose of obtaining and retaining lucrative business opportunities. Alvirez worked with a co-conspiractor to identify other companies and individuals that would supply approximately $15 million worth of goods to the Ministry of Defense of Gabon, knowing that 20% of the total deal amount - approximately $3 million - was intended to be paid as a "commission," half of which was intended to be paid as a bribe to the Minister of Defense of Gabon and half of which was intended to be split between the co-conspirator and a representative of the Minister of Defense (who was actually an undercover FBI agent) as a fee for their corrupt services.
Additionally, from about February 2008 through about December 2008, Daniel Alvirez and his co-conspirators sought to enrich themselves by making corrupt payments to Ministry of Defense officials of the Republic of Georgia for the purpose of obtaining and retaining lucrative business opportunities with the Georgian government. Alvirez facilitated the sale of military and law enforcement equipment to the Georgian government, with the assistance of corrupt sales agents, knowing that the sales agents would make corrupt payments to Georgian government officials to assist in obtaining and retaining the business. Alvirez would then accept commission payments from the corrupt sales agents for facilitating the corrupt deals with the government of Georgia.
On December 11, 2009, the DOJ filed a four count sealed Indictment in the District of Columbia against Alvirez and Tolleson alleging (1) conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA; (2-3) direct and aiding and abetting violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA; and (4) conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment was unsealed in 2010.
On March 5, 2010, the DOJ filed a two count Superseding Information in the District of Columbia against Alvirez alleging conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. This Superseding Information alleged in the first count the same conduct in Gabon as the Indictment but added a count that alleged the conduct in Georgia. On March 1, 2011, Alvirez pleaded guilty to both counts of the Superseding Information. However, on March 27, 2012, the DOJ moved to have all the charges from both the Indictment and the Superseding Information against Alvirez dismissed. Accordingly, on March 30, 2012, the court dismissed with prejudice the first count (Gabon), dismissed without prejudice the second count (Georgia), and vacated Alvirez's earlier guilty plea. In a separate order filed on February 24, 2012, the court dismissed with prejudice all the counts alleged in the Indictment against Tolleson.
