Daniel Perez was a United States citizen and the Director of Maintenance of Hunt Pan Am Aviation, Inc., from in or around 1978 through at least in or around July 2016. Perez was an owner of Hunt Pan Am from in or around 1993 through in or around 2010. Hunt Pan Am was a United States company that provided aircraft maintenance, repair, overhaul, and related services to customers in the United States and Mexico, including Mexican state government customers.
Kamta Ramnarine was a United States citizen and an employee of Hunt Pan Am from in or around 1975 to at least in or around July 2016. Ramnarine was the president of Hunt Pan Am from in ar around 1993 to in or around 2010, and the General Manager of Hunt Pan Am from in or around 2010 through at least in or around July 2016. Ramnarine was an owner of Hunt Pan Am from in or around 1993 through in or around 2010.
Ernesto Hernandez Montemayor was an employee of the Government or Tamaulipas, one of the thirty-one states that comprise Mexico. Montemayor had responsibility for maintaining the Tamaulipas Government's aircraft between in or around 2005 through in or around December 2010.
Ramiro Ascencio Nevarez was an employee of a public state university ("Foreign Public University") of one of the thiry-one states that comprise Mexico. Nevarez was responsible for maintaining the university's aircraft from at least in or around 2012 through in or around January 2016.
Between 2007 and April 2015, Ramnarine, Perez, and others paid bribes to Mexican officials in order to secure parts and servicing contracts with Mexican government-owned customers for Hunt Pan Am. Ramnarine, Perez, the foreign officials, and others took steps to conceal the bribery scheme, including by hiding the amount of the bribe payments in inflated invoices submited to the foreign government customers.
Ernesto Hernandez Montemayor admitted that he accepted bribes from Ramnarine, Perez and others in exchange for taking certain actions to assist companies they owned in winning business with Montemayor’s state government employer. Montemayor also admitted that he conspired with Ramnarine, Perez and others to launder the proceeds of the bribery scheme.
Ramiro Ascencio Nevarez admitted that while employed by a Mexican public university, he accepted bribes from Ramnarine and Perez in exchange for taking certain actions to assist their company in winning business with the university. Nevarez also admitted that he conspired with Ramnarine, Perez and others to launder the proceeds of the bribery scheme.
In total, Ramnarine, Perez and others (including Douglas Ray and Victor Hugo Valdez Pinon, who were separately charged) paid more than $2 million in bribes to Mexican officials, including Montemayor and Nevarez, in order to secure aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul contracts.
Ramnarine and Perez both pleaded guilty on November 2, 2016 to one count of conspiring to violate the FCPA. On February 2, 2017, the court sentenced both Ramnarine and Perez to 3 years probation and ordered that each pay a mandatory special assessment of $100.
In related proceedings, Ray and Pinon pleaded guilty on Oct. 28 and Oct. 26, 2016, respectively, to conspiring to violate the FCPA and conspiring to commit wire fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced on February 23, 2016. On December 9, 2015, Montemayor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder money. Montemayor is currently scheduled to be sentenced on January 12, 2017. Nevarez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 15 months in prison on May 27, 2016.
