Orthofix International Resolves Enforcement Action Based On The Conduct Of Its Mexican Subsidiary
Earlier this week, Orthofix International N.V. (“Orthofix”), a limited liability orthopedic medical device company formed under the law of Netherlands Antilles with administrative offices in Lewisville, Texas and common stock traded on Nasdaq, agreed to resolve DOJ and SEC FCPA enforcement actions. The conduct at issue focuses on Promeca S.A. de C.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orthofix headquartered in Mexico City. According to the SEC, “during the relevant time period, Promeca was subject to Orthofix’s control, including the implementation of internal controls at Promeca” and the “financial results of Promeca were a component of the consolidated financial statements included in Orthofix’s filings with the SEC.’
Total fines and penalties in the Orthofix enforcement action were approximately $7.4 million ($2.2 million via a DOJ deferred prosecution agreement, and $5.2 million via a settled SEC civil complaint).
DOJ
The DOJ enforcement action involved a criminal information against Orthofix resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement.
The specifics of the DOJ’s case against Orthofix are not known at this time as the Eastern District of Texas, where a criminal information has been filed, has a standing order that criminal informations remain sealed until a plea is entered in open court. Nevertheless, Orthofix did file the deferred prosecution agreement as an exhibit (see here) to its recent SEC filing. The DPA indicates that the information concerns one count of violating the FCPA’s internal control provisions.
The term of the DPA is three years and it states that the DOJ entered into the agreement based on the following factors: “(a) following reports of bribery by [Promeca] employees … Orthofix made a timely and voluntary disclosure to the Department and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) about potential misconduct; (b) Orthofix conducted an investigation concerning bribery and related misconduct; (c) Orthofix reported its findings to the Department and the SEC; (d) the extent of the conduct; (e) Orthofix undertook remedial measures, including the implementation of an enhanced compliance program, and agreed to undertake further remedial measures, as may be necessary under [the DPA]; and (f) Orthofix agreed to continue to cooperate with the Department in any ongoing investigation of the conduct of Orthofix’s current and former employees, agents, consultants, contractors, subcontractors, and subsidiaries relating to violations of the FCPA.”
Pursuant to the DPA, the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range for the conduct at issue was $2.22 – $4.44 million. The DPA states as follows. “Orthofix and the DOJ agree that this fine is appropriate given the nature and extent of Orthofix’s cooperation in this matter and the remediation undertaken by Orthofix.” Of note, the guidelines calculation indicate that “an individual within high-level personnel condoned or was willfully ignorant of the offense.” Although a compliance monitor was not required pursuant to the DPA, Orthofix did agree that it will report to the DOJ annually during the term of the DPA regarding remediation and implementation of the compliance measures required under the DPA.
As is customary in FCPA DPA’s, Orthofix agreed not to make any public statement contradicting its acceptance of responsibility for the conduct at issue in the DPA.
SEC
The SEC’s settled civil complaint (here) against Orthofix alleges, in summary fashion, as follows.
“This matter involves violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA by Orthofix, an orthopedic medical device company. From 2003 to 2010, [Promeca], repeatedly paid bribes totaling approximately $317,000 to Mexican officials in order to obtain and retain sales contracts from Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (“IMSS”) [here], the Mexican government-owned healthcare and social services institution. Promeca employees referred to these payments as ‘chocolates.’ These improper payments, falsely recorded on the company’s books as cash advances to Promeca executives or training and promotions expenses, generated approximately $8.7 million in gross revenues for Orthofix and resulted in illicit net profits of about $4.9 million.”
According to the SEC, Promeca sold Orthofix’s products to government and private hospitals in Mexico and “approximately 60% of Promeca’s revenues came from IMSS, the Mexican government-0wned medical care and social services provider.”
Under the heading “bribery scheme” the complaint alleges as follows.
“From at least 2003 to 2007, … Promeca, regularly paid bribes to IMSS hospital employees in the form of cash and/or gifts, in order to secure sales contracts from IMSS hospitals. The bribe amounts, referred to internally at Promeca as ‘chocolates,’ ranged from 5% to 10% of the collected sales for the hospital in question. In order to obtain cash for the illicit payments, Promeca executives wrote checks to themselves, which they justified as cash advances. They later submitted falsified receipts for imaginary expenses including meals and new car tires, which were accounted for in Promeca’s books and records. As the bribes increased, it became difficult for Promeca executives to invent new receipts to justify the advances. Eventually, the bribes became too large, forcing the Promeca executives to devise another justification methodology, and hence they began falsely accounting for the payments as promotional and training expenses. Because of the bribery scheme, Promeca’s training and promotional expenses were significantly over budget. In one instance, Orthofix launched an inquiry into these expenses, but did not control them. In 2008, IMSS began purchasing medical products under a new national tender system, where a special IMSS committee, rather than the individual hospitals, selected the winning bidder who would cover IMSS nationally. Promeca then established a new system of bribery to ensure that it was awarded the business under the national tender system. To achieve this, Promeca made payments to three front companies, which were controlled by certain IMSS officials. Promeca won the national tenders for 2008 and 2009 and paid the front companies 5% and 3%, respectively, of the collected sales from those tenders. The front companies concealed these bribes by submitting false invoices, characterizing them as training and other promotional expenses that Promeca never received. Promeca falsely recorded the bribes on its books as payments for training courses, meetings and congresses, and promotional costs. In addition, between 2003 and 2010, Promeca expended approximately $80,050 on gifts and travel packages, some of which were intended to corruptly influence IMSS employees in order to retain their business. The various gifts included vacation packages, televisions, laptops, appliances, and in one case, the lease of a Volkswagen Jetta. These payments were falsely accounted for in Promeca’s books and records as promotional and training expenses. In all, the improper payments, totaling about $317,000, generated approximately $8.7 million in gross revenues and resulted in illicit net profits to Orthofix of about $4.9 million.”
Under the heading, “Orthofix’s Remedial Measures to Prevent Corrupt Payments” the complaint states as follows.
“Prior to the discovery of the bribery schemes, Orthofix did not have an effective FCPA compliance policy or FCPA-related training. Although Orthofix disseminated some code of ethics and anti-bribery training to Promeca, the materials were only in English, and it was unlikely that Promeca employees understood them as most Promeca employees spoke minimal English. [For a recent FCPAmericas post on this issue, see here]. Additionally, even though Promeca’s training and promotional expenses, that included the improper payments, were often over budget, Orthofix did very little to investigate or diminish the excessive spending. Upon discovery of the bribe payments through a Promeca executive, Orthofix immediately self-reported the matter to the Commission staff, and conducted an internal investigation. Orthofix also implemented significant remedial measures. Specifically, it terminated the Promeca executives that orchestrated the bribery scheme, wound up Promeca’s operations, enhanced its overall FCPA compliance program with mandatory annual FCPA training for all employees and third-party agents, expanded internal audit functions, and implemented other internal control measures.”
Based on the above allegations, the SEC complaint charges violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions. The SEC complaint states as follows. “Orthofix’s subsidiary characterized their payments to IMSS as cash advances or training and promotional expenses even though those payments were used as bribes. Orthofix’s books and records did not reflect the true nature of those payments. Orthofix failed to implement adequate internal controls to prevent the bribery or to ensure that transaction were properly recorded. Orthofix failed to implement an FCPA compliance and training program commensurate with the extent of its international operations and particularly its ownership of Promeca, a subsidiary that had substantial sales to government-owned enterprises. Further, even though Orthofix knew that Promeca’s training and promotional expenses were often over budget, it did nothing to act on the red flag.”
As stated in the SEC’s release (here), Orthofix consented to a final judgment ordering it to pay $4,983,644 in disgorgement and more than $242,000 in prejudgment interest. As noted in the release, the final judgment would permanently enjoin the company from violating the books and records and internal control provisions of the FCPA and Orthofix also agreed to certain undertakings, including monitoring its FCPA compliance program and reporting back to the SEC for a two-year period.
In the release, Kara Brockmeyer (Chief of the SEC’s FCPA Unit) stated as follows. “Once bribery has been likened to a box of chocolates, you know a corruptive culture has permeated your business. Orthofix’s lax oversight allowed its subsidiary to illicitly spend more than $300,000 to sweeten the deals with Mexican officials.”
Perhaps the most notable aspect of the Orthofix enforcement action is that neither the DOJ or SEC charged the company with FCPA anti-bribery violations despite allegations that, given the enforcement agencies’ theories, have typically resulted in such violations.
Peter Spivack (Hogan Lovells – here) represented Orthofix.
SEC Files Opposition Brief To Jackson and Ruehlen’s Motion To Dismiss
This previous post discussed the February 2012 SEC FCPA enforcement action against Mark Jackson (former Noble Corporation CEO) and James Ruehlen (current Director and Division Manager of Noble’s subsidiary in Nigeria). The enforcement action is based on the same core set of facts alleged in the 2010 Noble Corporation enforcement action (see here for the prior post). The February 2012 post noted that unlike the vast majority of FCPA defendants (corporate and individual) charged in an SEC enforcement action, Jackson and Ruehlen appeared poised to launch a defense.
This previous post discussed Jackson’s and Ruehlen’s May 2012 motion to dismiss and noted the significance of the event in terms of the SEC’s FCPA enforcement program as the SEC is rarely put to its burden of proof in FCPA enforcement actions. To my knowledge, the Jackson and Ruehlen enforcement action represents the first time since the SEC lost the Mattson and Harris individual enforcement actions in 2002 (see here for a prior post discussing the case) that the Commission will be put to its burden of proof in an FCPA enforcement action.
Last Friday the SEC filed its opposition to the motion to dismiss (here) and in summary fashion the SEC’s opposition brief states as follows.
“The Complaint charges defendants Jackson and Ruehlen, a former and current senior officer of Noble Corporation (“Noble”), respectively, with multiple violations of the anti-bribery and accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1, and other violations of the federal securities laws. Noble, an international oil drilling company, used for years an intermediary “customs agent” to pay bribes to government officials of the Nigerian Customs Service and other Nigerian government officials. Jackson and Ruehlen were intimately involved in arranging, approving, falsely booking, and concealing Noble’s bribe payments to foreign officials. Together, the defendants participated in paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to improperly obtain approximately eight illegitimate duty exemptions, known as temporary import permits (“TIPs”), and twenty-two TIP extensions. These TIPs and extensions were obtained illicitly so that Noble’s oil rigs offshore in Nigeria could continue to operate under lucrative drilling contracts. Jackson approved the payments and concealed the payments from Noble’s audit committee and auditors. Ruehlen prepared false documents as to the movement of the rigs, sought approval for the payments from Jackson and others at Noble, and processed and paid the bribe money to the intermediary customs agent.
Defendants contend that the Commission has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6). They attack the sufficiency of the Complaint in scattershot fashion, but their arguments distilled to their essence advance six primary arguments for dismissal:
First, the defendants argue that the SEC must allege the “specific identity” of Nigerian officials for whom the defendants authorized the payment of bribes. This line of argument finds no support in the text, legislative history, case law, or purposes of the FCPA. Defendants authorized bribes to foreign officials through intermediaries. The Complaint identifies the officials by country and government agency and alleges defendants’ corrupt intent to improperly influence those officials through the payment of money. Neither the FCPA nor the notice pleading standards of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) require anything more. As the language, text, legislative history and policies of the FCPA confirm, a violation of its provisions rests with the intent of the person authorizing the bribes, not with the identity or role of the official targeted for bribery. The name, title or exact position of the official need not be pleaded or proved, as confirmed by decisions under analogous domestic bribery statutes.
Second, the defendants argue that the Complaint fails to allege facts to support the inference that their payments fell outside of the FCPA’s statutory “routine governmental action” (a.k.a. “facilitating payments”) exception. Yet, the SEC is not required to plead preemptively around a statutory exception that a defendant might invoke. For over a century, including in the securities context, the Supreme Court has held that a pleading based on a general provision that defines the elements of a statutory violation need not negate an exception made by proviso or otherwise to those elements. The “facilitating payments” exception fits that rule. Thus, the defendants, not the SEC, must raise the exception’s application in the pleadings and prove its applicability at trial. Moreover, the Complaint satisfies any purported need to “plead around” the exception. The well-pled facts, such as that the bribes were paid to induce foreign officials to falsely certify facts and accept false paperwork, indicate that defendants’ bribes were not “facilitating payments,” i.e., payments authorized to expedite or secure the performance of an ordinarily or commonly performed official act.
Third, Ruehlen claims that the FCPA’s routine government action exception is unconstitutionally vague as applied to him. Claims of this nature have been soundly rejected by the courts, including by the Fifth Circuit. Also, the Complaint abundantly alleges that Ruehlen sought and obtained authorizations to pay bribes that cannot be understood reasonably as anything other than crossing the line of prohibited conduct.
Fourth, the defendants contend that the Complaint does not allege facts giving rise to the inference that they acted “corruptly.” This attack on the Complaint ignores the well-pled facts and misconstrues the law. The legislative history of the FCPA and the decisions in the Fifth Circuit and elsewhere reject defendants’ definition of “corruptly.” Defendants also overlook that states of mind, such as intent and purposes, may be alleged generally. The Complaint alleges defendants’ corrupt intent, and the allegations are supported by ample facts.
Fifth, the defendants seek to dismiss the Complaint as insufficiently pleading alleged securities violations other than bribery. Defendants, for example, argue that the SEC fails to specify the books and records that were falsified and the internal controls that they evaded. Defendants’ line of arguments directed to these issues are, first, largely premised on their attack on the Commission’s bribery claims – an attack that this Court should reject. In addition, the defendants simply ignore the facts actually pled in the Complaint. The allegations set forth in great detail what Jackson and Ruehlen claim not to find in the Complaint, including identifying the books and records falsified and the internal controls evaded or not implemented.
Sixth, the defendants argue that the Complaint is untimely because the applicable statute of limitations permits relief only for conduct occurring five years before the filing of the Complaint on February 24, 2012. Yet buried in footnotes in their briefs, the defendants admit that they signed tolling agreements extending the statute of limitations. The Complaint alleges violative conduct within the limitations period even absent the tolling agreement. What is more, various equitable doctrines would apply to toll the statute. And the statute of limitations does not apply to claims for equitable relief such as injunctions.
Finally, throughout each of their briefs, defendants intermittently challenge facts asserted in the Complaint, advance facts not alleged in the Complaint but purportedly reflected elsewhere, and argue for inferences favorable to them. At the pleadings stage, these arguments are not a proper basis for granting a motion to dismiss and must be rejected. The Commission has stated a claim upon which relief may be granted for each of Claims One through Seven, and defendants’ motions to dismiss should be denied.”
Too Much Guanxi
“In the end, Garth Peterson, a rising star at Morgan Stanley in China, was undone by his pursuit of “guanxi.” So begins this 2009 Reuters article that details the rise and fall of Peterson, fired by Morgan Stanley in 2008, “amid suspicions” that he had violated the FCPA. According to the article, Morgan Stanley, voluntarily reported the case to U.S. authorities after a nine month internal investigation.
Yesterday the DOJ and SEC announced a joint enforcement against Peterson.
DOJ
In this release, the DOJ announced that Peterson, a former managing director for Morgan Stanley’s real estate business in China, pleaded guilty to a one count criminal information (unavailable at this point) for “conspiring to evade internal accounting controls that Morgan Stanley was required to maintain under the FCPA.”
The release states as follows.
“According to court documents, Morgan Stanley maintained a system of internal controls meant to ensure accountability for its assets and to prevent employees from offering, promising or paying anything of value to foreign government officials. Morgan Stanley’s internal policies, which were updated regularly to reflect regulatory developments and specific risks, prohibited bribery and addressed corruption risks associated with the giving of gifts, business entertainment, travel, lodging, meals, charitable contributions and employment. Morgan Stanley frequently trained its employees on its internal policies, the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws. Between 2002 and 2008, Morgan Stanley trained various groups of Asia-based personnel on anti-corruption policies 54 times. During the same period, Morgan Stanley trained Peterson on the FCPA seven times and reminded him to comply with the FCPA at least 35 times. Morgan Stanley’s compliance personnel regularly monitored transactions, randomly audited particular employees, transactions and business units, and tested to identify illicit payments. Moreover, Morgan Stanley conducted extensive due diligence on all new business partners and imposed stringent controls on payments made to business partners.”
“According to court documents, Peterson conspired with others to circumvent Morgan Stanley’s internal controls in order to transfer a multi-million dollar ownership interest in a Shanghai building to himself and a Chinese public official with whom he had a personal friendship. The corruption scheme began when Peterson encouraged Morgan Stanley to sell an interest in a Shanghai real-estate deal to Shanghai Yongye Enterprise (Group) Co. Ltd., a state-owned and state-controlled entity through which Shanghai’s Luwan District managed its own property and facilitated outside investment in the district. Peterson falsely represented to others within Morgan Stanley that Yongye was purchasing the real-estate interest, when in fact Peterson knew the interest would be conveyed to a shell company controlled by him, a Chinese public official associated with Yongye and a Canadian attorney. After Peterson and his co-conspirators falsely represented to Morgan Stanley that Yongye owned the shell company, Morgan Stanley sold the real-estate interest in 2006 to the shell company at a discount to the interest’s actual 2006 market value. As a result, the conspirators realized an immediate paper profit of more than $2.5 million. Even after the sale, Peterson and his co-conspirators continued to claim falsely that Yongye owned the shell company, which in reality they owned. In the years since Peterson and his co-conspirators gained control of the real-estate interest, they have periodically accepted equity distributions and the real-estate interest has appreciated in value.”
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer stated as follows. “Mr. Peterson admitted today that he actively sought to evade Morgan Stanley’s internal controls in an effort to enrich himself and a Chinese government official. As a managing director for Morgan Stanley, he had an obligation to adhere to the company’s internal controls; instead, he lied and cheated his way to personal profit. Because of his corrupt conduct, he now faces the prospect of prison time.”
Peterson is to be sentenced on July 17th.
As to Morgan Stanley, the release states as follows.
“After considering all the available facts and circumstances, including that Morgan Stanley constructed and maintained a system of internal controls, which provided reasonable assurances that its employees were not bribing government officials, the Department of Justice declined to bring any enforcement action against Morgan Stanley related to Peterson’s conduct. The company voluntarily disclosed this matter and has cooperated throughout the department’s investigation.”
Kudos to the DOJ. Would anything really change with an FCPA compliance defense – see here for “Revisiting a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Defense”?
SEC
In this complaint, the SEC alleged in summary as follows.
“From at least 2004 to 2007, Defendant Garth Peterson, while employed at Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. ‘s (“Morgan Stanley”) real estate investment and fund advisory business, secretly acquired millions of dollars worth of real estate investments from Morgan Stanley’s funds for himself, the former Chairman of Yongye Enterprise (Group) Co. (“Yongye”) -a Chinese state-owned entity with influence over the success of Morgan Stanley’s real estate business in Shanghai-and others. Peterson also arranged to have paid to himself and the former Chairman of Yongye (“the Chinese Official”) at least $1.8 million in what he misrepresented were finder’s fees Morgan Stanley’s funds owed to third parties. In exchange for offers and payments from Peterson, the Chinese Official helped Peterson and Morgan Stanley obtain business while personally benefitting from some of these same investments. This self-dealing and misappropriation by Peterson breached the fiduciary duties he and Morgan Stanley owed to their clients.”
Based on the above conduct, the SEC charged Peterson with violating the FCPA’s anti-bribery and internal controls provisions, as well as aiding and abetting violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act.
In this release, the SEC noted that Peterson agreed to a settlement of the SEC’s charges “in which he will be permanently barred from the securities industry, pay more than $250,000 in disgorgement, and relinquish his interest in the valuable Shanghai real estate (currently valued at approximately $3.4 million) that he secretly acquired through his misconduct.”
Robert Khuzami (Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement) stated as follows. “Peterson crossed the line not once, but twice. He secretly bribed a government official to illegally win business for his employer and enriched himself in violation of his fiduciary duty to Morgan Stanley’s clients. This case illustrates the SEC’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for FCPA violations, particularly employees who intentionally circumvent their company’s internal controls.”
Kara Novaco Brockmeyer (Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit) stated as follows. “As a rogue employee who took advantage of his firm and its investment advisory clients, Peterson orchestrated a scheme to illegally win business while lining his own pockets and those of an influential Chinese official.”
As to Yongye and the Chinese Official, the complaint states as follows.
“Yongye Enterprise (Group) Co. Ltd. was a large real estate development arm of the Luwan District Government in Shanghai, China. Since its inception in 1994, Yongye held leases for many prime areas in the Luwan District. Yongye’s business was to keep or take a small share in real estate joint ventures, including with Morgan Stanley and its funds, in exchange for helping its joint venture partner obtain the proper licensing from the local government. Yongye owned and developed residential and commercial real property, sold and brokered real estate to Morgan Stanley and its funds, and partnered with Morgan Stanley and its funds in various real estate investments.”
“The Chinese Official was the Chairman of Yongye at all pertinent times until his retirement in September 2006. As Chairman, he exercised control over Y ongye and had the authority to make investment decisions for it. Before Yongye, the Chinese Official worked for the Luwan District government. After his retirement in September 2006, the Chinese Official continued to work with Morgan Stanley as a private real estate developer and broker until approximately the time Peterson was terminated in 2008.”
The complaint contains an entire section titled “Morgan Stanley’s FCPA Compliance Program and Internal Controls” which states as follows.
“Morgan Stanley trained Peterson on the FCPA numerous times during his employment, as follows:
(1) Morgan Stanley trained Peterson on anti-corruption policies and the FCPA at least seven times between 2002 and 2008. In addition to other live and web-based training, Peterson participated in a teleconference training conducted by Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Litigation and Global Head of Morgan Stanley’s Anti-Corruption Group in June 2006.
(2) Morgan Stanley distributed to Peterson written training materials specifically addressing the FCPA, which Peterson maintained in his office.
(3) A Morgan Stanley compliance officer specifically informed Peterson in 2004 that employees of Yongye, a Chinese state-owned entity, were government officials for purposes of the FCPA.
(4) Peterson received from Morgan Stanley at least thirty five FCPA-compliance reminders. These reminders included FCPA-specific distributions; circulations and reminders of Morgan Stanley’s Code of Conduct, which included policies that directly addressed the FCPA; various reminders concerning Morgan Stanley’s policies on gift-giving and entertainment; the circulation of Morgan Stanley’s Global Anti-Bribery Policy; guidance on the engagement of consultants; and policies addressing specific high-risk events, including the Beijing Olympics.
(5) Morgan Stanley required Peterson on multiple occasions to certify his compliance with the FCPA. These written certifications were maintained in Peterson’s permanent employment record.
Morgan Stanley required each of its employees, including Peterson, annually to certify adherence to Morgan Stanley’s Code of Conduct, which included a portion specifically addressing corruption risks and activities that would violate the FCPA. Morgan Stanley required its employees, including Peterson, annually to disclose their outside business interests. Morgan Stanley had policies to conduct due diligence on its foreign business partners, conducted due diligence on the Chinese Official and Yongye before initially conducting business with them, and generally imposed an approval process for payments made in the course of its real estate investments. Both were meant to ensure, among other things, that transactions were conducted in accordance with management’s authorization and to prevent improper payments, including the transfer of things of value to officials of foreign governments.”
Next Up – Biomet
First it was Johnson & Johnson (see here – $70 million in combined fines and penalties in April 2011). Then it was Smith & Nephew (see here – $22 million in combined fines and penalties in February 2012). Next up in the sweep of the medical device industry – based on the enforcement theory that certain foreign health care providers are “foreign officials” – is Biomet. Biomet (here) is an Indiana-based company that designs, manufactures and markets products used primarily by musculoskeletal medical specialists in both surgical and non‐surgical therapy.
Total fines and penalties in the Biomet enforcement action were approximately $22.8 million ($17.3 million via a DOJ deferred prosecution agreement, and $5.5 million via a settled SEC civil complaint).
DOJ
The DOJ enforcement action involved a criminal information (here) against Biomet resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement (here).
Criminal Information
In substance, the information begins as follows. “Argentina has a public healthcare system wherein approximately half of hospitals are publicly owned and operated. Health care providers (“HCPs”) who work in the public sector are government employees, providing health care services in their official capacities. Therefore, such HCPs in Argentina are ‘foreign officials’ as that term is defined in the FCPA.” “Brazil has a socialized public healthcare system that provides universal health care to all Brazilian citizens, and the majority of hospitals are publicly-controlled. HCPs who work in the public sector are government employees, providing health care services in their official capacities. Therefore, such HCPs in Brazil are ‘foreign officials’ as that term is defined in the FCPA.” “China has a national healthcare system wherein most Chinese hospitals are publicly owned and operated. HCPs who work at publicly-owned hospitals are government employees, providing health care services in their official capacities.”
The information charges one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, three substantive FCPA anti-bribery charges (one charge focused on conduct in Argentina, one charge focused on conduct in Brazil, and one charge focused on conduct in China) and one charge of violating the FCPA’s books and records provisions.
As to the conspiracy charge, the information alleges that between 2000 to 2009, Biomet and others conspired to “secure lucrative business with hospitals in the Argentine, Brazilian, and Chinese public health care systems by making and promising to make corrupt payments of money and things of value to publicly-employed HCPs.”
According to the information, it was part of the conspiracy that “Biomet, certain of its executives, employees, and subsidiaries” – (1) “agreed to pay publicly employed Argentine HCPs 15-20 percent commissions in exchange for the purchase of Biomet products” (2) “agreed to pay Brazilian HCPs 10-20 percent commissions through Brazilian Distributor [a Brazilian company that had exclusive distribution rights for Biomet reconstructive products in Brazil] in exchange for the purchase of Biomet products” and (3) “agreed to pay Chinese HCPs commissions through Chinese Distributor [a Chinese company that acted as a distributor of Biomet products in China], and paid for travel for Chinese HCPs, in exchange for the purchase of Biomet products.”
The information also alleges that it was further part of the conspiracy that at the end of Biomet’s fiscal year from 2000 to 2009 “Biomet, its executives, employees, and subsidiaries falsely recorded the payments on its books and records as ‘commissions,’ ‘royalties,’ ‘consulting fees,’ ‘other sales and marketing,’ and ‘scientific incentives,’ in order to conceal the true nature of the payments in the consolidated books and records of Biomet Argentina [a wholly-owned Argentine subsidiary of Biomet through which Biomet conducted business in Argentina], Biomet International [a wholly-owned Delaware subsidiary of Biomet through which Biomet sold products into Brazil], Scandimed [a wholly-owned Swedish subsidiary through which Biomet sold products into China and elsewhere], and Biomet China [a wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary through which Biomet sold products into China], which books and records were incorporated into the books and records of Biomet for purposes of preparing Biomet’s year-end financial statements, which were filed with the SEC …”.
The information alleges as follows. “In total, from 2000 to 2008, Biomet, Biomet Argentina, Biomet International, Scandidmed, and Biomet China, and their related subsidiaries and employees, authorized the payment, directly or indirectly, of at least $1.5 million, some or all of which was paid to publicly-employed HCPs to induce the purchase of Biomet products.”
As to Argentina, the information largely focuses on internal e-mails or memos which indicated that “royalties are paid to surgeons if requested” and that the payments “are disclosed in the accounting records as commissions.” The information details a 2005 internal investigation into certain allegations of improper conduct, but alleges that thereafter problematic payments continued to be made. For instance, a 2007 internal e-mail states as follows. “Doctors receive a ‘consulting fee’ for every surgery.” According to the information, in August 2008 “Biomet distributed new compliance guidelines that emphasized the FCPA and related issues, and the company’s managing director for Argentina sought advice from the company’s lawyers, causing Biomet to suspend payments to Argentine doctors.”
As to Brazil, the information largely focuses on internal e-mail or memos noting that the Brazilian Distributor was paying commissions to doctors and that the Brazlian Distributor admitted that it “paid doctors for buying Biomet products and described the payments as ‘scientific incentives.”
As to China, the information discusses various internal e-mails which reference: the China Distributor “paying a 10-15% ‘rebate’ to surgeons on the sale of Biomet artificial hips;” a Scandimed employee stating that, regarding commissions to surgeons, “Scandimed has no control over this … as we understand it, giving commissions or gifts of various kinds to surgeons is common in China;”the China Distributor stating that a “Doctor will become the most loyal customer of Biomet if we send him to Switzerland”; and the China Distributor stating as follows – “Doctor is the department head of [public hospital] and that Doctor uses about 10 hips and knees a month and its on an uptrend, as he told us over dinner a week ago … Many key surgeons in Shanghai are buddies of his. A kind word on Biomet from him goes a long way for us. Dinner has been set for the evening of the 24th. It will be nice. But dinner aside, I’ve got to send him to Switzerland to visit his daughter.” The information also references a distribution memo which states that “Chinese surgeons typically receive a commission on sales, which can range from 5% to 25% and that distributors are expected to hold banquets for surgeons and to sponsor meetings.” Another internal e-mail discusses “consulting fees paid to doctors for conducting clinical trials” and a “proposal for a two week visit for Chinese doctors to the United Kingdom, with the second week being a ‘holiday’ paid for by Chinese Distributor.” The information also alleges that in October 2007 “Biomet China sponsored the travel of 20 surgeons to Barcelona and Valencia for training, including a substantial portion of the trip being devoted to sightseeing and other entertainment at Biomet’s expense.” According to the information, in 2005 “Director of Internal Audit [based in Warsaw, Indiana] instructed an auditor to classify improper payments being made to doctors in connection with certain clinical trials as ‘entertainment’ and in 2007, the product manager for Biomet China sent an e-mail to [an Associate Regional Manager based in Hong Kong] “discussing ways to evade efforts by the Chinese government to halt corruption in health care by requiring all international companies to declare actual cost for import to the government, noting, ‘obviously, China government doesn’t have ability to forbid the corruption from hospitals & surgeons …’ and proposing four methods for avoiding the regulation, including falsified invoices.
DPA
The DOJ’s charges against Biomet were resolved via a deferred prosecution agreement. Pursuant to the DPA, Biomet admitted, accepted and acknowledged “that it is responsible for the acts of its officers, employees and agent, and wholly-owned subsidiaries” as set forth in the information.
The term of the DPA is three years and it states that the DOJ entered into the agreement based on the following factors: Biomet investigated and disclosed to the DOJ and SEC the misconduct, “a portion of which was voluntarily disclosed”; Biomet reported its findings to the DOJ and SEC; Biomet cooperated fully in the DOJ and SEC investigation; Biomet undertook remedial measures, including the implementation of an enhanced compliance program and agreed to undertake further remedial measures as set forth in the DPA; Biomet agreed to continue to cooperate with the DOJ, SEC, and foreign authorities in any related investigations; “Biomet has cooperated and agreed to continue to cooperate with the DOJ in the DOJ’s investigations of other companies and individuals in connection with business practices overseas in various markets;” and “were the DOJ to initiate proseuction of Biomet and obtain a conviction, instead of entering into the agreement to defer prosecution, Biomet would potentially be subject to exclusion from participation in federal health care programs pursuant to 42 USC 1320a-7(a).”
Pursuant to the DPA, the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range for the conduct at issue was $21.6 – $43.2 million. The DPA states as follows. “Biomet agrees to pay a monetary penalty in the amount of $17.28 million, a 20 percent reduction off the bottom of the fine range. Biomet and the DOJ agree that this fine is appropriate given Biomet’s extensive internal investigation, the nature and extent of Biomet’s cooperation in this matter, Biomet’s cooperation in the DOJ’s investigation of other companies … and Biomet’s extraordinary remediation.” The guidelines calculation notes that Biomet received a credit for “substantial assistance in the prosecution of others.”
Pursuant to the DPA, Biomet agreed to engage an independent compliance monitor “for a period of not less than 18 months” and to provide periodic reports to the DOJ regarding remediation and implementation of the enhanced compliance measures as described in an attachment to the DPA. As is customary in FCPA DPA’s, Biomet agreed that it shall not make any public statement contradicting its acceptance of responsibility.
See here for the DOJ’s release.
SEC
The SEC’s settled civil complaint (here) against Biomet is based on the same core conduct as described above. In summary it alleges “violations of the FCPA by Biomet and four of its subsidiaries to obtain sales for their medical device business” and that from “2000 through August 2008, Biomet and its four subsidiaries paid bribes to public doctors employed by public hospitals and agencies in Argentina, Brazil, and China.”
Among other things, the SEC’s complaint alleges that “executives and auditors at Biomet’s Indiana headquarters were aware of the Argentine payments to doctors as early as 2000.” The SEC alleges as follows. “Internal audit took no steps to determine why royalties were paid to doctors purchasing Biomet medical devices, or why the payments to the doctors were 15-20 percent of sales. The internal auditors did not obtain any evidence of services provided for the payments. In fact, the internal audit report concluded that there were adequate controls in place to properly account for royalties paid to surgeons without any supporting documentation.” Elsewhere, the SEC alleges that “despite the bribery” [the] Latin America Auditor’s only recommendation was to change the journal entry from ‘commission expenses’ to ‘royalties.'”
The SEC complaint references the September 2007 letter “Commission staff” sent to Biomet “inquiring of payments made to public doctors” but that “while the inquiry was underway in certain countries, additional conduct was occurring at Biomet Argentina.” For instance, the complaint alleges that in March 2008, “Managing Director of Biomet Argentina again reported the payments to surgeons to internal compliance personnel but no efforts were made by compliance to stop the practice.”
As to Biomet’s FCPA anti-bribery violations, the SEC complaint alleges that “Biomet employees who were U.S. nationals approved the payments to Argentine doctors and the arrangements with the Brazilian Distributor and Chinese Distributor that included payments to doctors.”
As to Biomet’s failure to maintain adequate internal controls, the complaint alleges as follows. “Biomet failed to implement internal controls to detect or prevent bribery. Biomet and four subsidiaries were involved in bribery that lasted for over a decade. The conduct involved employees and managers of all levels involved in Biomet’s sales in Argentina, Brazil and China. False documents were routinely created or accepted that concealed the improper payments.”
Based on the above allegations, the SEC complaint charges violations of the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions and books and records and internal controls provisions.
As stated in the SEC’s release (here), without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Biomet consented to the entry of a court order requiring payment of approximately $4.4 million in disgorgement and approximately $1.1 million in prejudgment interest.
The SEC’s release states as follows. “Biomet’s compliance and internal audit functions failed to stop the payments to doctors even after learning about the illegal pratices.” Kara Brockmeyer (Head of the SEC’s FCPA Unit) stated as follows. “A company’s compliance and internal audit should be the first line of defense against corruption, not part of the problem.”
In this release, Biomet’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey R. Binder, stated: “Biomet has long been committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical and legal conduct both in the United States and abroad. Over the past several years, we have significantly enhanced our global compliance procedures and financial controls, and we fully intend to work with the independent monitor and the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission to bolster our FCPA compliance practices and procedures. Moving forward, we intend to continue to adhere to our enhanced global compliance procedures, and to promote the Company’s commitment to the highest ethical standards in all the markets that we serve.”
Laurence Urgenson (Kirkland & Ellis – here) and Asheesh Goel (Ropes & Gray – here) represented Biomet.
As to the origins of the FCPA inquiry, Biomet’s most recent quarterly filing stated as follows. “On September 25, 2007, Biomet received a letter from the SEC informing the Company that it is conducting an informal investigation regarding possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the sale of medical devices in certain foreign countries by companies in the medical devices industry. […] On November 9, 2007, the Company received a letter from the Department of Justice requesting any information provided to the SEC be provided to the Department of Justice on a voluntary basis.”
Will The SEC Be Put To Its Burden Of Proof In The Jackson And Ruehlen Enforcement Action?
As discussed in this previous post, in November 2010, Noble Corporation was one of several companies to resolve FCPA enforcement actions in what I called CustomsGate – enforcement actions largely focused on alleged payments to Nigerian customs officials to receive various permits. The Noble enforcement action involved both a DOJ and SEC component. Total settlement amount was approximately $8.2 million ($2.6 million criminal fine via a non-prosecution agreement; $5.6 million in disgorgement and interest via a SEC complaint).
As noted in the previous post, in the Noble Corporation enforcement action it was stated, not once but twice, that the payments at issue “would not constitute facilitation payments for routine governmental actions within the meaning of the FCPA.” I noted then that one can reasonably conclude that if the DOJ felt the need to express such a statement twice, that the FCPA’s facilitating payment exception should probably be on the minds of many in connection with the CustomsGate enforcement actions.
Against the backdrop of recent and well-deserved scrutiny of the DOJ’s FCPA enforcement program, the SEC reminds us all that it too can enforce the FCPA. [As an aside, Professor Barbara Black (University of Cincinnati College of Law) recently released her forthcoming scholarship – see here – “The SEC and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Fighting Global Corruption is Not Part of the SEC’s Mission].
Last Friday, the SEC announced here charges against “three oil services executives with violating the FCPA by participating in a bribery scheme to obtain illicit permits for oil rigs in Nigeria in order to retain business under lucrative drilling contracts.”
In this complaint filed in the S.D. of Texas, the SEC charged Mark Jackson (former Noble Corporation CEO) and James Ruehlen (current Director and Division Manager of Noble’s subsidiary in Nigeria) based on the same core set of facts relevant to the prior corporate enforcement action – namely that Noble and its wholly-owned subsidiary (Noble-Nigeria) “authorized its customs agent to pay bribes” on the companies behalf “to Nigerian government officials to influence or induce them to (1) favorably process false paperwork, (2) grant temporary import permits (TIPs) based on the false paperwork, and (3) favorably exercise or abuse their discretion in granting extensions to these illicit TIPs.”
The complaint (a meaty 46 pages) next states, in summary fashion, as follows.
“Defendants approved payment of the bribes. Defendant Ruehlen also assisted the customs agent in preparing false documents, processed the customs agent’s invoices for the bribes, and signed the checks reimbursing the customs agent for the bribes he paid to Nigerian government officials. Defendants acted in this way to obtain TIPs and TIP extensions and retain business under drilling contracts in Nigeria. As a consequence, Defendants violated the anti-bribery provisions [of the FCPA.] Defendants also took steps to circumvent Noble’s internal controls and to falsely record these bribes as legitimate operating expenses on Noble’s books. Defendant Jackson failed to implement internal accounting controls to prevent the bribery and false recording of the bribes. As a consequence, Defendants violated the records falsification and internal control provisions of the Exchange Act and aided and abetted Noble’s violations of the books and records and internal control provisions [of the FCPA]. Defendant Jackson misled Noble’s auditors about the bribes and signed certifications required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 falsely stating that he had created and maintained effective internal controls, and that there were no internal control weaknesses, fraud or FCPA violations. As a consequence, Jackson violated Rules 13b2-2 and 13a-14 of the Exchange Act. During the violations, Jackson was Noble’s Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and ultimately President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Jackson directly or indirectly controlled Noble, Defendant Ruehlen, and others, and therefore is liable as a control person under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act for all of their violations.”
[For previous Section 20(a) control person (or similar) FCPA enforcement actions – see here and here.]
Unlike the vast majority of FCPA defendants (corporate and individual) charged in an SEC enforcement action, Jackson and Ruehlen appear poised to launch a defense.
Jackson’s lawyer, David Krakoff (here – BuckleySandler) stated as follows. “We unequivocally deny the SEC’s baseless allegations. Mr. Jackson will vigorously defend himself in court where the evidence will show what the SEC already knows, that at all times Mr. Jackson acted in good faith at Noble. He looks forward to clearing his good name in this proceeding.”
Ruehlen’s lawyer F. Joseph Warin (here – Gibson Dunn & Crutcher) told the Wall Street Journal that his client was the one who initially raised concerns about the payments and that Ruehlen “fully cooperated throughout the investigation and always acted in an ethical and transparent manner.” Warin stated that “the claims against Mr. Ruehlen are wrong and they will be proven so at trial.”
This will be most interesting to follow as the SEC is rarely put to its burden of proof in FCPA enforcement actions (or any of its actions for that matter). This is due to the SEC’s long-standing policy of allowing defendants to settle SEC complaints without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations. For recent judicial scrutiny of this settlement device, see this prior post.
The last time the SEC is believed to have been put to its burden of proof in an FCPA enforcement action was in the Eric Mattson and James Harris enforcement action also filed in the S.D. of Texas. Like the Jackson and Ruehlen enforcement action, the Mattson and Harris enforcement action involved conduct outside the context of foreign government procurement. As detailed in this Memorandum and Order, the SEC had its FCPA anti-bribery charges dismissed in that case. The case involved alleged goodwill payments to an Indonesian tax official for a reduction in a tax assessment. The SEC claimed that the FCPA’s unambiguous language plainly encompassed the goodwill payment and the issue before the Court was whether the plain language of the FCPA prohibited goodwill payments for the purpose of reducing a tax assessment. When Mattson and Harris was decided, the S.D. of Texas in U.S. v. Kay case had already dismissed that case finding that the plain language of the FCPA does not prohibit goodwill payments to foreign government officials to reduce a tax obligation. The SEC attempted to distinguish the trial court’s Kay ruling by arguing that in the civil enforcement context, the Court should interpret the FCPA’s language more liberally than in criminal cases. The Court rejected the SEC’s arguments and followed the trial court’s analysis in Kay that the payments at issue to the Indonesian tax official did not violate the FCPA because it did not help Mattson’s and Harris’s employer (Baker Hughes) “obtain or retain business.”
Of course, the 5th Circuit overturned the Kay trial court ruling and held that making payments to a “foreign official” to lower
taxes and custom duties in a foreign country can provide an unfair advantage to the payer over competitors and thereby assist the payer in obtaining and retaining business. However, the Kay court emphatically stated that not all such payments to a “foreign official” outside the context of directly securing a foreign government contract violate the FCPA; it merely held that such payments “could” violate the FCPA. The 5th Circuit then listed several hypothetical examples of how a reduction in custom and tax liabilities could assist a company in obtaining or retaining business in a foreign country. On the other hand, the court also recognized that “there are bound to be circumstances” in which a custom or tax reduction merely increases the profitability of an existing profitable company and thus, presumably, does not assist the payer in obtaining or retaining business. The court specifically stated: “[i]f the government is correct that anytime operating costs are reduced the beneficiary of such advantage is assisted in getting or keeping business, the FCPA’s language that expresses the necessary element of assisting in obtaining or retaining business would be unnecessary, and thus surplusage – a conclusion that we are forbidden to reach.”
The point of this extended discussion in the context of Jackson and Ruehlen is two-fold: (1) that the SEC has already lost a non-government procurement FCPA case in the S.D. of Texas; and (2) even with the 5th Circuit precedent in Kay, and even taking the SEC’s allegations as true, payments in connection with TIPs would seem to be only to increase the profitability of an existing profitable company and thus – following the logic of the Fifth Circuit – fall outside of the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out should the SEC’s FCPA anti-bribery charges be fully litigated in the Jackson and Ruehlen enforcement action.
As noted in the SEC’s release last week, the Noble executive enforcement action also involved a separate complaint (here) against Thomas O’Rourke (the former controller and head of internal audit at Noble). The complaint alleged that O’Rourke: (1) aided and abetted Noble’s violations of the FCPA anti-bribery provisions, books and records and internal controls provisions; and (2) directly violated the FCPA’s internal controls provisions and false records provisions of the Exchange Act.
Under the heading “defendants’ violations” the SEC alleged, among other things, that O’Rourke: (1) “understood that Noble-Nigeria had used false paperwork to obtain TIPs, and that Noble-Nigeria paid its customs agent for ‘special handling charges’ that were passed through to Nigerian officials; (2) “knew that the ‘special handling charges’ were entered into Noble-Nigeria’s books as legitimate operating expenses, and he knew or was reckless in not knowing that those entries were improper”; (3) “knowingly allowed TIP-related payments to government officials to be improperly accounted for as legitimate operating expenses.
Like the vast majority of FCPA defendants in SEC enforcement actions, O’Rourke chose to settle the SEC’s complaint without admitting or denying the SEC allegations. According to the SEC release, O’Rourke consented to entry of a court order requiring him to pay a $35,000 civil penalty and permanently enjoining him from future violations.
*****
Last week I participated in a discussion with Howard Sklar regarding a potential FCPA compliance defense (see here for the webcast.) In the aftermath of the SEC’s charges against the Noble executives, Sklar penned a Forbes blog (here) and stated as follows. “One example Mike brings to prove his point [that the FCPA should be amended to include a compliance defense] is the Panalpina line of cases, including Noble. I don’t think he’ll be able to use the Noble case as an example after today. These complaints are against the CEO (who formerly held the CFO spot) and the country leader for Nigeria. Plus, there’s Thomas O’Rourke. Thomas O’Rourke was Noble’s Director of Internal Audit, Controller, and VP of Internal Audit.”
Nice try Howard, but you are off-target.
Sklar is correct that I discuss the Noble Corp. enforcement action (and other related CustomsGate enforcement actions) in my “Revisiting a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Defense” article (see here at pgs. 9-12 ). However, that discussion is focused on specific reasons warranting an FCPA compliance defense, including that in many markets, companies subject to the FCPA must navigate challenging environments replete with barriers and other conditions that serve as breeding grounds for payments implicating (at least in the eyes of the enforcement agencies) the FCPA.
In discussing harassment bribes, I then talk about the notoriously corrupt Nigerian Customs Service (“NSC”) and how business interactions with NSC officials have been the basis for several FCPA enforcement actions including the coordinated enforcement actions from November 2010 involving Noble Corp. and others. Anticipating the counter-argument that the FCPA does not need a compliance defense due to the harassment bribery conditions many companies face in foreign markets because the FCPA already contains a facilitating payments exception, I then stated that so long as the DOJ refuses to recognize a facilitating payments exception to the FCPA, that Congressional intent on the facilitating payments issue is best advanced through an FCPA compliance defense in which a company can assert, as a matter of law, that its pre-existing FCPA policies and procedures sought to prevent such payments in foreign markets.
In short, I was using the Noble Corporation enforcement action in connection with a discussion of facilitating payments, not using that particular enforcement action to support an FCPA compliance defense because it somehow was based on low-level employee conduct. Indeed, in the DOJ’s non-prosecution agreement (here) which I discussed in this previous post, “Senior Executive,” “Executive A” and “Executive B” are all specifically mentioned as participating in the alleged improper conduct and an FCPA compliance defense would not apply to corporate conduct engaged in by executive officers.
The point of the Noble Corp. reference in my article was that the company should not have been the subject of an FCPA enforcement action based on the alleged conduct because Congress intended to exempt such payments from the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions (regardless of who made, directed, or authorized the payments).