Frederic Pierucci held executive-level positions at Alstom Power, Inc. and other related entities. William Pomponi was a vice president of regional sales at Alstom Power, Inc. Lawrence Hoskins was Senior Vice President for the Asia Region of Alstom Holdings, S.A. David Rothschild was a vice president of regional sales at Alstom Power, Inc.
According to the charging documents in this case, from 2002 to 2009, Pierucci and Rothschild, together with others, paid bribes to officials in Indonesia, including a member of Indonesian Parliament and high-ranking members of Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), the state-owned and state-controlled electricity company in Indonesia, in exchange for those officials’ assistance in securing a contract for the company to provide power-related services for the citizens of Indonesia, known as the Tarahan project. The Tarahan Project was valued at roughly $118 million. In order to conceal the bribes, the defendants retained two consultants purportedly to provide legitimate consulting services on behalf of the power company and its subsidiaries in connection with the Tarahan project. In reality, however, the primary purpose for hiring the consultants was allegedly to use the consultants to pay bribes to Indonesian officials.
On Novemeber 27, 2012, the DOJ filed an indictment against Pierucci, charging him with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violating the money laundering provisions of the FCPA. On April 30, 2013, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment against Pierucci and Pomponi, charging them with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violating the money laundering provisions of the FCPA. On July 29, 2013, Pierucci pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, and one count of violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. On October 6, 2017, the court entered judgment against Pierucci and sentenced him to 30 months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release. The court also ordered Pierucci to pay a fine of $20,000 plus a mandatory special assessment of $200.
On July 30, 2013, the DOJ filed a second superseding indictment against Pomponi and Hoskins, charging them with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violating the money laundering provisions of the FCPA. On July 17, 2014, Pomponi pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. Pomponi died prior to sentencing, so on July 6, 2016, the DOJ moved to dismiss the case against him, which the court granted on July 19, 2016.
On April 15, 2015, the DOJ filed a third superseding indictment against Hoskins, charging him with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions, violating the anti-bribery provisions, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violating the money laundering provisions of the FCPA. On June 4, 2015, Hoskins filed a motion to dismiss count one of the third superseding indictment (the conspiracy charge), which the court granted in part on August 13, 2015. The DOJ filed a motion to reconsider that ruling, and on March 16, 2016, the court denied that motion. On April 1, 2016, the DOJ filed a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. On August 24, 2018, the Second Circuit issued its opinion. The Second Circuit affirmed the lower court's ruling that Hoskins could not be liable for conspiring to violate the FCPA without showing that he was acting as an employee, officer, director, or agent of Alstom. The appeals court, however, reversed the lower court's ruling that prohibited the government from attempting to establish that Hoskins was liable as an agent of Alstom. The court held that if the government could show Hoskins was acting as an agent, he could be prosecuted under the FCPA.
On July 15, 2019, Hoskins moved to dismiss the indictment based on violations of the speedy trial act. On August 19, 2019, the court denied that motion. Hoskins' trial began on October 28, 2019, and on November 8, 2019, the jury convicted Hoskins on eleven of the 12 counts of the indictment. Hoskins filed a motion for acquittal or, in the alternative, a new trial. On February 26, 2020, the court partially granted Hoskins motion for acquittal stating that the government had not adequately proven that Hoskins acted as an agent of Alstom Power, a domestic concern. Thus, the court acquitted Hoskins of the FCPA charges. However, the court upheld Hoskins conviction on the money laundering charges. On March 9, 2020, the DOJ notified the court that it was appealing the acquittal ruling.
On March 11, 2020, the court sentenced Hoskins to 15 months in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $30,000 plus a mandatory assessment of $400. On March 24, 2020, Hoskins notified the court that he was appealing the judgment. On March 26, 2020, the DOJ also notified the court that it was appealing the judgment. The case was argued before the court on August 17, 2021. On August 12, 2022, the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's ruling. On October 4, 2022, the DOJ requested an extension of time to consider an en banc appeal, which the court granted. But in November 2022, the DOJ quietly chose not to appeal, finally bringing a close to this case.
In a related action, David Rothschild pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. On July 27, 2020, the court sentenced Rothschild to time served in prison plus one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $10,000 plus a mandatory assessment of $100.
