The grand jury indicted the Aguilars on September 15, 2010. (Both defendants were previously the subject of sealed indictments.) In the superseding indictment dated October 21, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Enrique Aguilar and the three Lindsey defendants on one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and five counts of bribery under the FCPA. Enrique and Angela Aguilar were indicted under one count of conspiracy to violate and one count of violating federal anti-money laundering law. Angela Aguilar is not charged with any FCPA violations.
U.S. authorities arrested Angela Aguilar in Houston in August 2002. She pleaded not guilty and was held in custody until trial. The Lindsey defendants also pleaded not guilty. Keith Lindsey and Steve Lee were released pending trial on $50,000 bonds.
On May 10, 2011, a federal jury found Angela Aguilar guilty of conspiracy to launder money and the Lindsey defendants guilty of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and five substantive FCPA violations. On June 3, 2011, Angela Aguilar entered into a post-trial stipulation whereby she agreed to, among other things, (i) a sentence of time served, (ii) waiver of her rights to an appeal of her conviction and sentence, and (iii) a forfeiture in the amount of $2,511,553.
Before sentencing could take place for the other defendants, lawyers for Lindsey Manufacturing, Keith Lindsey, and Steve Lee moved to dismiss the indictments on the basis of intentional prosecutorial misconduct. The defendants alleged that the government allowed an FBI agent to make false statements to the grand jury, obtained search and seizure warrants using affidavits containing false statements, and failed to disclose exculpatory evidence as required under Brady v. Maryland. On December 1, 2011, the court granted defendants’ motion, citing multiple instances of misconduct by the government. The government filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit that same day.
The December 1, 2011 order vacated the convictions and dismissed the indictments against the Lindsey defendants with prejudice. On December 9, 2011, the government stipulated that it would not enforce Angela Aguilar’s collateral attack waiver if the court’s order of dismissal is affirmed. In May 2012, the government withdrew its appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
The conviction of Lindsey Manufacturing was the first-ever conviction of a corporate defendant for violations of the FCPA following a trial. The case is also notable for upholding application of the FCPA to employees of foreign state-owned enterprises. During the course of the trial, defendants challenged the government’s position that employees of foreign state-owned enterprises fell within the meaning of “foreign official” under the FCPA, but the court adopted the DOJ’s more expansive interpretation.
