Miami Businessman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Bribery
The President of a Miami based company has pled guilty to monetary transactions connected to a plan to bribe former Haitian telecommunications officials. Jean Fourcand admitted to receiving funds that originated from U.S. telecommunications companies for the benefit of an official with Haiti's state owned telecommunications company.
Fourcand admitted that some of the funds were sent to an intermediary company J.D. Locator Services Inc. The president of J.D. Locator previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and money laundering. Fourcand also admitted that Robert Antoine a prior official at Haiti's telecommunications company was a recipient of bribes. Antoine was also indicted for money laundering conspiracy and was subsequently arrested and forced to leave Haiti to answer to the U.S. charges.
In carrying out the scheme, J.D. Locator would write checks to Fourcand, which would contain a fabricated invoice to create the false impression that the payment was for legitimate services. In reality, the money was intended to be diverted to real estate transactions for the benefit of Antoine. Fourcand faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction.
Prior to Fourcand's guilty plea, Antoino Perez who was the controller of a U.S. telecommunications company also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit (FCPA) violations and money laundering for paying bribes to former officials of the Haiti telecommunications company.
White collar criminal investigations and prosecutions threaten companies with serious consequences and the tactics of a criminal investigation which include grand jury subpoenas, search warrants, undercover informants, unannounced visits from law enforcement agents and even wiretaps. These tactics are unfamiliar and highly unsettling to most companies and individuals but can themselves lead to criminal penalties when handled unwisely. Effective representation in a white-collar criminal prosecution requires not only knowledge of the law but experience with the offices and agencies that enforces them according to Miami criminal defense lawyer John Musca. "The federal authorities increasingly pursue white-collar crime very aggressively. These are complicated cases that are difficult to defend so it is important to have an experienced white-collar attorney on your side," said Musca.
