A&O Shearman FCPA Digest | United States v. Jason Edward Steph (S.D. Tex. 2007)

Source Documents

Foreign Official
Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, a senior executive branch official of the Nigerian government, a political party, and Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, operator of a joint venture majority-owned by the Nigerian government.

Nature of Business
Procurement of contracts for a gas pipeline construction project in Nigeria for Willbros International Inc. (“Willbros International”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Willbros Group, Inc. (“Willbros Group”). Willbros is a Panamanian corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Jason Edward Steph was formerly the general manager of on-shore operations for Willbros International Inc.

Influence to be Obtained
Steph, a U.S. citizen, conspired to make payments to certain Nigerian government officials, with the assistance of consultants, employees of a major German construction and engineering firm, and other third parties to secure gas pipeline construction business in Nigeria. Despite an ongoing internal investigation at Willbros, Steph conspired to secure cash for payment of prior commitments to Nigerian officials using the petty cash accounts of the company’s Nigerian subsidiary and loans from third parties, including a German construction and engineering firm that was a consortium partner with Willbros.

Enforcement
On July 19, 2007, the DOJ filed an indictment against Steph charging one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and for three money laundering counts. In November 2007, Steph pleaded guilty, admitting to conspiring to pay approximately $1.8 million to Nigerian officials. Under the plea agreement, Steph agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy, to file accurate amended tax returns, and to cooperate with the DOJ in its ongoing investigation into the Willbros matter. The Government dismissed the money laundering charges and did not oppose Steph’s request for a two-level downward adjustment under the sentencing guidelines for acceptance of responsibility. On January 28, 2010, the court sentenced Steph to 15 months of imprisonment, 2 years of supervised release, a criminal fine of $2,000 and an assessment of $100.