Stericycle, Inc., headquartered in Illinois, ran an international waste management network, focused primarily on medical, industrial, and maritime waste as well as document destruction. Stericycle's securities were registered with the SEC and publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker “SRCL.” Stericycle’s Latin America division (“Stericycle LATAM”) was responsible for overseeing the operations of Stericycle’s subsidiaries in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Puerto Rico.
Mauricio Gomez Baez, a Mexican citizen and resident of Miami, worked for Stericycle as the Senior Vice President of Stericycle LATAM. His responsibilities included oversight and management of Stericycle LATAM and certain of Stericycle subsidiaries, including acquisitions, operations, finance, and sales.
According to the documents in this case, between 2011 and 2016, Baez conspired with other Stericycle employees and agents to pay approximately $10.5 million in bribes to Mexican, Brazilian, and Argentinian government officials in order to obtain government contracts for medical waste collection for Stericycle.
On February 9, 2024, the DOJ filed a single count information in the Southern District of Florida against Baez alleging a conspiracy to violate the antibribery provisions of the FCPA. On February 13, the DOJ filed a superseding information alleging the same violations. On February 27, Baez entered into a plea agreement with the DOJ. On June 21, 2024, the court sentenced Baez to seven months in prison to be followed to by three years of supervised release, the first seven months of which will be served under house arrest. The court further ordered Baez to pay a fine of $250,000 plus a mandatory assessment of $100.