A&O Shearman FCPA Digest | United States v. Christian Sapsizian and Edgar Valverde Acosta (S.D. Fla. 2006)

Source Documents

Nature of Business
Procurement of telecommunications business by Christian Sapsizian, an executive of Alcatel S.A. (“Alcatel”), a French corporation with registered shares traded in the United States. Sapsizian held a number of positions in Alcatel including Vice President of Latin America for one of Alcatel’s subsidiaries. Edgar Valverde Acosta was a Costa Rican national who managed the day-to-day affairs of Alcatel’s Costa Rican subsidiary and held the title of Senior Country Officer.

Influence to be Obtained
From around February 2000 through September 2004, Sapsizian and Acosta, on behalf of Alcatel, a French company, allegedly directly made payments to an official of the state-owned telecommunications company, intending for that official to share the payments with another senior official. During this period, Sapsizian and Acosta also employed an agent consulting firm as a conduit for bribe payments to the two officials and the wife of one of the officials.

Enforcement
On March 20, 2007, a superseding indictment was filed against Sapsizian and Acosta. On June 7, 2007, the DOJ announced that Sapsizian pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and violating the FCPA. The terms of his plea agreement provide for an immediate forfeiture of $261,500, as well as Sapsizian’s continued cooperation with U.S. and foreign law enforcement officials in the ongoing investigation concerning Alcatel CIT. On September 23, 2008, Sapsizian was sentenced to 30 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Separately, on June 14, 2007, the court transferred Acosta to fugitive status.

Amount of the Value
On March 20, 2007, a superseding indictment was filed against Sapsizian and Acosta. On June 7, 2007, the DOJ announced that Sapsizian pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and violating the FCPA. The terms of his plea agreement provide for an immediate forfeiture of $261,500, as well as Sapsizian’s continued cooperation with U.S. and foreign law enforcement officials in the ongoing investigation concerning Alcatel CIT. On September 23, 2008, Sapsizian was sentenced to 30 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Separately, on June 14, 2007, the court transferred Acosta to fugitive status.