Processing your request


please wait...

Enforcement Action Dataset

 

Initiation Date:    12/04/2009  Information

Prosecuting Agency:    U.S. Department of Justice

Type of Action:    DOJ Criminal Proceeding

Docket or Case Number:    09-cr-21010

Court:    S.D. Florida

Name of Prosecuting Attorneys:   

  • Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney
  • Aurora Fagan, Assistant United States Attorney
  • Steven A. Tyrrell, Acting Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Mark F. Mendelsohn, Deputy Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Nicola J. Mrazek, Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Richard Weber, Chief, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Criminal Division
  • Kevin Gerrity, Trial Attorney, Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Criminal Division
  • Wilfredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney
  • Denis J. McInerney, Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • James M. Koukios, Senior Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Daniel S. Kahn, Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division

US Assisting Agencies:   

  • Internal Revenue Service

Foreign Enforcement Action/Investigation:    Unknown

Foreign Assistance:    Unknown

Origin of the Proceeding:    Unknown

Whistleblower:    Unknown

Case Status:    Ongoing


Summary  Information

Joel Esquenazi was the President and Director of Terra Telecommunications Corp. ("Terra"). In this position, he negotiated and signed contracts with Telecommunications D'Haiti ("Haiti Teleco") on behalf of Terra.

Carlos Rodriguez was the Executive Vice President of Terra. In this position, Rodriguez was in charge of overseeing Terra's finances.

Robert Antoine was the Director of International Relations of Haiti Teleco from about May 2001 to about April 2003.

Jean Rene Duperval succeeded Antoine as the Director of International Relations of Haiti Teleco from about June 2003 to about April 2004.

Patrick Joseph was the Director General of Haiti Teleco from about March 2001 to about June 2003.

Marguerite Grandison was Duperval's sister and served as an intermediary between Terra and Duperval. Grandison was also President of Telecom Consulting Services Corp. ("Telecom Consulting").

Cinergy Telecommunications, Inc. ("Cinergy") was a privately owned telecommunications company that was incorporated in Florida and headquartered at the same address as Uniplex Telecom Technologies, Inc. ("Uniplex") in Miami, Florida.

Washington Vasconez Cruz was the President of Uniplex and the President and Chief Operating Officer of Cinergy. In these positions, he had authority over the operations of Uniplex and Cinergy.

Cecilia Zurita was the Vice President of Uniplex and Cinergy. In these positions, Zurita was in charge of overseeing Uniplex's and Cinergy's finances.

Amadeus Richers was the Director of Uniplex and Cinergy. In these positions, Richers managed the ongoing business relationship between Uniplex, Cinergy, and Haiti Teleco.

According to the allegations in the charging documents, from about November 2001 to about March 2005, Esquenazi, Rodriguez, Grandison, along with other co-conspirators, provided bribe payments to Antoine and Duperval of Haiti Teleco. The payments to Antoine were made primarily through a business bank account in the name of JD Locator Services, Inc., which was controlled by Juan Diaz. Grandison served as the primary intermediary for payments to Duperval. All these bribes were made in exchange for business advantages to be bestowed upon Terra by Haiti Teleco. These business advantages to Terra included, but were not limited to, preferred telecommunications rates, reduced number of minutes for which payment was owed, which effectively reduced the per minute rate, and a variety of credits toward sums owed.

It was further alleged that from about December 2001 to about January 2006, Cruz, Zurita, Richers, and Cinergy, along with several co-conspirators, provided bribe payments intended for Antoine, Duperval, Joseph, and Official B (an unnamed official in the executive branch of the Haitian government). Again, JD Locator and Diaz served as the primary intermediary for payments made to Antoine as well as Joseph. Grandison was the primary intermediary for payments made to Duperval. All these bribes were made in exchange for business advantages to be bestowed upon Uniplex and Cinergy by Haiti Teleco. These business advantages to Uniplex and Cinergy included, but were not limited to, telecommunications contracts, preferred telecommunications rates, and credits toward sums owed.

On December 4, 2009, the DOJ filed a 21 count indictment in the Southern District of Florida against Esquenazi, Rodriguez, Antoine, Duperval, and Grandison alleging (1) conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and conspiracy to commit wire fraud; (2-8) violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and aiding and abetting violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA; (9) conspiracy to commit money laundering; and (10-21) money laundering. Esquenazi, Rodriguez, and Grandison were charged on all 21 counts. Antoine was charged solely on count 9. Duperval was charged on counts 9 through 21.

On March 12, 2010, Antoine entered into a plea agreement with the DOJ. Under the terms of the agreement, Antoine pleaded guilty to the one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and agreed to forfeiture of $1,580,771. On June 10, 2010, the court entered final judgment against Antoine. The court sentenced Antoine to 48 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. After his imprisonment, Antoine was ordered to surrender to ICE for the initiation of removal proceedings. The court further ordered Antoine to pay restitution of $1,852,209.39 plus a mandatory assessment of $100. In a separate order of forfeiture, the court ordered Antoine to pay the agreed forfeiture amount of $1,580,771. On May 29, 2012, the court amended the judgment pursuant to a federal criminal procedure rule 35 motion by the DOJ. Under the amended judgment, Antoine's imprisonment was reduced to 18 months.

Esquenazi and Rodriguez both went to trial and were found guilty by a jury on all 21 counts. On November 3, 2011, the court entered judgment on both. Esquenazi was sentenced to 180 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Rodriguez was sentenced to 84 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. After his imprisonment, Rodriguez was ordered to surrender to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") for the initiation of removal proceedings. The court ordered Esquenazi and Rodriguez to pay $2.2 million in restitution, which was owed joint and severally among them and Juan Diaz, a defendant in a separate but related proceeding. The court futher ordered Esquenazi and Rodriguez to jointly and severally forfeit $893,818.50. Esquenazi and Rodriguez then appealed their convictions to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 17, 2014, the Court of Appeals affirmed their convictions and provided a significant win for the DOJ by ruling on the definition of a "foreign official" under the FCPA: the unanimous panel rejected the defendants’ argument in favor of a limited definition and, instead, adopted the DOJ’s position that “fact-bound questions” must be answered on a case-by-case basis to determine whether a state-owned or state-controlled enterprise is an instrumentality of a foreign government such that its employees are foreign officials. On October 8, 2014, the Supreme Court denied Esquenazi and Rodriguez's Petition for Writ of Certiorari.

On Januray 19, 2012, the DOJ filed a 28 count second superseding indictment in the Southern District of Florida against Cruz, Zurita, Richers, Cinergy, Joseph, Duperval, and Grandison alleging alleging (1) conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and conspiracy to commit wire fraud; (2-7) violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and aiding and abetting violations of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA; (8-9) conspiracy to commit money laundering; and (10-28) money laundering. Cruz, Richers, and Cinergy were charged on counts 1-8 and 10-28. Zurita was charged on counts 1, 4-8, and 10-28. Joseph was charged solely on count 8. Duperval and Grandison were charged on counts 8-28.

On February 24, 2012, the court ordered the charges against Cinergy dismissed with prejudice after the DOJ elected not to go to trial based on a finding that Cinergy was in fact then non-operational, had no employees, and has no assets of any real value.

Duperval went to trial and was found guilty on all counts on which he was charged. On May 22, 2012, the court entered judgment on Duperval. He was sentenced to 108 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. After his imprisonment, Duperval was ordered to surrender to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") for the initiation of removal proceedings. The court ordered Duperval to pay a mandatory assessment of $2,100 and forfeiture of $497,331. Though not specifically mentioned in the judgment, presumably Duperval is jointly and severally liable as a co-defendant for the $2.2 million restitution ordered against Esquenazi and Rodriguez. On June 7, 2012, Duperval appealed his conviction to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. On February 9, 2015, in a unanimous panel decision, the Court of Appeals affirmed Duperval's conviction.

On September 24, 2013, the court ordered the charges against Grandison dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a pretrial diversion agreement she entered into with the DOJ on about February 22, 2012 that was subsequently approved by the court. The term of the pretrial diversion agreement was for 18 months from the date of the execution of the agreement, and on August 28, 2013, the United States Probation Officer notified the government that Grandison had successfully completed the Pretrial Diversion Program effective August 27, 2013.

In February 2012, Joseph pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to prison for twelve months and one day, and ordered to forfeit $955,596.69 and pay a $100 special assessment.

On February 23, 2017, Richers was arrested and appeared in court the next day. On July 19, 2017, Richers entered into a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to the first count of the superseding indictment against him. The remaning counts would be dismissed. On September 27, 2017, the court sentenced Richers to time served in prison plus 3 years of supervised release. The court also ordered Richers to pay a mandatory assessment of $100.

Cruz and Zurita appear to remain fugitives.

Protected Content


Please Log In or Sign Up for a free account to access restricted features of the Clearinghouse website, including the Advanced Search form and the full case pages.

When you sign up, you will have the option to save your search queries performed on the Advanced Search form.