Katherine A. Raut, Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division
Robert A. Zink, Acting Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
US Assisting Agencies: Unknown
Foreign Enforcement Action/Investigation: Unknown
Foreign Assisting Agencies: Unknown
Origin of the Proceeding:
Unknown
Whistleblower:
Unknown
Case Status:
Resolved
Summary
Master Halbert was a government official at the Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure for the Federated States of Micronesia.
Frank James Lyon, a U.S. citizen, owned LYON Associates, Inc., a privately-held engineering and consulting company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
According to the complaint filed in this case, between 2006 and 2016, Lyon, along with unnamed co-conspirators, made bribe payments to Halbert in order to obtain approximately $7.8 million in contracts for Lyon's company.
On January 24, 2019, the DOJ filed a sealed complaint in the District of Hawaii against Halbert alleging conspiracy to commit money laundering. The complaint was unsealed on February 11, 2019. An Information alleging the same count was filed on March 14, 2019. Habert entered into a plea agreement on April 2, 2019. On August 7, 2019, the court sentenced Halbert to 18 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $7,500 and a mandatory assessment on $100.
In a related case, on January 16, 2019, the DOJ filed a single count Information in the District of Hawaii against Lyon alleging conspiracy to violate the antibribery provisions of the FCPA as well as conspiracy to pay a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds. On January 22, 2019, Lyon entered into a plea agreement with the DOJ. On May 14, 2019, the court sentenced Lyon to 30 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. The court further ordered Lyon to pay a mandatory assessment of $100.
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