White Collar Criminal Defense Group

DOJ Declines To Prosecute DynCorp Over FCPA Allegations

Delta Tucker Holdings, Inc. announced last week in its 2012 10-K that its subsidiary, DynCorp International Corporation, will not be prosecuted by the Department of Justice for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations.  DynCorp provides specialized-mission critical professional and support services outsourced by the United States Military, non-Military United States governmental agencies and foreign governments.  They provide expertise in law enforcement training and support, base and logistics operations, intelligence training, rule of law development, construction management, international development, ground vehicle support, counter-narcotics aviation, platform services and operations and linguist services.  Conduct of DynCorp’s employees in Afghanistan and Iraq has been a source of controversy.

“According to DynCorp, the United States Department of Justice ended the inquiry because of a number of factors, including the voluntary disclosure by the company… and the steps taken to enhance the company’s anti-corruption compliance program.”

According to the filing, DynCorp had identified certain payments made on their behalf by two subcontractors to expedite the issuance of a limited number of visa’s and licenses from a foreign government agency that raised compliance issues under the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  As a result, DynCorp had hired outside counsel to investigate the payments. In November 2009, DynCorp voluntarily brought this matter to the attention of the United States Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission. 

On February 5, 2013, the United States Department of Justice notified the corporation that their inquiry into the allegations was closed.  According to DynCorp, the United States Department of Justice ended the inquiry because of a number of factors, including the voluntary disclosure by the company, the thorough investigation undertaken by the company, and the steps taken to enhance the company’s anti-corruption compliance program.

Fen-Phen A Go Go: Cardiologist Sentenced To 6 Years For $4.5 Million Fraud In Fen-Phen Trust Fund

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez sentenced a 79 year old cardiologist, Dr. Abdur Razzak Tai, to six years in prison and ordered him to pay $4.5 million in restitution for his role in defrauding a trust fund designed to compensate victims of the Fen-Phen diet drug.  At the sentencing hearing, Tai’s attorney had requested home confinement arguing that, because of his age and health, Tai would certainly die in prison.  The government opposed the defense’s request and argued that imprisonment was appropriate in light of Tai’s misconduct.

Fen-Phen, a combination of fenfluarmine and phentermine, was taken off the market in 1997 after reports that the drugs had caused serious heart damage.  Now part of Pfizer, Wyeth marketed Fen-Phen but entered into a class action settlement worth billions of dollars and established a trust to provide benefits for those who were injured by the pharmaceutical.  Tai’s sentencing followed a jury trial during which the government presented evidence that Tai was compensated $1,500 for each claimant who qualified for trust benefits.  The government also claimed that one attorney paid Tai $100 for each echocardiogram that he read. 

Testifying on his own behalf at trial, Tai claimed that his medical reports were forged by the lawyer who had hired him and who had paid him on a contingency fee basis.  However, after deliberating for less than two hours, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all 13 counts – six counts of mail fraud and seven counts of wire fraud.