Nexus Technologies, Inc. ("Nexus"), was a Delaware company with offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Nexus purchased items from United States vendors for customers in Vietnam.
From 1999 to May 2008, in order to obtain lucrative contracts for Nexus, Nam Quoc Nguyen, Joseph T. Lukas, Kim Anh Nguyen, and An Quoc Nguyen agreed to pay bribes, typically described as “commissions,” to various Vietnamese government officials. Nexus and the Nguyens admitted that from 1999 to 2008, they agreed to pay, and knowingly paid, bribes in excess of $250,000 to Vietnamese government officials.
On Sepember 4, 2008, the DOJ filed an indictment against Nexus, Nam Quoc Nguyen, Joseph T. Lukas, Kim Anh Nguyen, and An Quoc Nguyen, charging them with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions, and aiding and abetting the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. On June 29, 2009, Joseph T. Lukas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions and violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Joseph T. Lukas was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. On October 29, 2009, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment against Nexus, Nam Quoc Nguyen, Kim Anh Nguyen, and An Quoc Nguyen, charging them with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, conspiracy to violate the travel act, conspiracy to launder money, violating the anti-bribery provisions, violating the travel act, violating the money laundering provisions, aiding and abetting the anti-bribery provisions, aiding and abetting the money laundering provisions, aiding and abetting the travel act, and criminal forfeiture. On March 16, 2010, Nexus, Nam Quoc Nguyen, Kim Anh Nguyen, and An Quoc Nguyen pleaded guilty. Nexus pleaded guilty to all the charges filed against the company in the superseding indictment. Nam and An Nguyen each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions, a violation of the Travel Act and money laundering. Kim Nguyen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions and money laundering. On September 16, 2010, Nam Nguyen was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to serve two years of supervised release. An Nguyen was sentenced to nine months in prision and ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Kim Nguyen was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. Nexus acknowledged that, as a company, it operated primarily through criminal means and agreed to cease operations as a condition of the guilty plea.
