TERRA TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.

Industry

Telecommunications

Corporate Headquarters

Miami, Florida, United States

Summary of Allegations:

Nationality of Foreign Officials: Haiti

Summary of Allegations:

Terra and two other Miami-based telecommunications companies, Fourcand Enterprises Inc. ("Fourcand") and Cinergy Telecommunications Inc. ("Cinergy"), allegedly conspired to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practice Act ("FCPA") and money laundering laws in connection with over USD 1 million in improper payments made to Haitian government officials. As part of the scheme, the individuals allegedly executed a series of contracts with Telecommunications D'Haiti ("Haiti Teleco"), state-owned national telecommunications company, so that the company's customers could place telephone calls to Haiti.

Antonio Perez, former Controller at Terra Telecommunications Corp. ("Terra") between March 1998 and January 2002, allegedly conspired with Fourcand and Cinergy allegedly to make side payments to then Director of International Relations and the Director General at Haiti Teleco, Robert Antoine and Jean Rene Duperval. Between 1998 and 2005, Perez allegedly assisted Terra make improper payments totaling approximately USD 674,193 through the course of the conspiracy. Perez allegedly assisted in paying USD 36,375 worth of side payments from November 2001 through January 2002 and allegedly helped conceal the payments through J.D. Locator Services ("J.D. Locator"), a Miami-based shell company owned by Juan Diaz, and by recording them as consulting services.  In exchange for the bribe payments, the Haitian officials allegedly provided the Miami-based telecommunications companies with a variety of business advantages, including preferential connection rates and various credits towards sums owed, such as reductions in the number of minutes for which payments were due.

Cinergy and its related company, Uniplex Telecommunications Inc., allegedly paid more than USD 1.4 million to shell companies, and those funds were used to bribe officials at Haiti Teleco.

Approximate Alleged Payments to Foreign Officials: USD 674,193

Business Advantage Allegedly Obtained: Preferential connection rates and reduced connection fees; discounted rates on long distance calls

Enforcement Results

Agencies: United States: Department of Justice

Results: Conviction, Plea Agreement, Prosecution of Individuals, Restitution

Year Resolved: 2009

Compliance Monitor: N/A

Ongoing: No

Details:

Antonio Perez - Terra Telecommunications

In Spring 2008, Antonio Perez was charged with conspiring to make corrupt payments to officials of Haiti Teleco on behalf of Terra.

On 27 April 2009, Perez pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit FCPA violations and money laundering for his role in the bribery scheme.

On 21 January 2011, Perez was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and to forfeit USD 36,375. He had faced a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of USD 250,000 or twice the gross gain.

Joel Esquenazi, Carlos Rodriguez - Terra Telecommunications

An indictment unsealed on 7 December 2009 revealed that Joel Esquenazi, President of Terra, and Carlos Rodriguez, former Executive Vice President at Terra, were charged with conspiracy to violate the FCPA, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, substantive violations of the FCPA, conspiracy to commit money laundering and substantive counts of money laundering.

On 4 August 2011, a federal jury convicted Esquenazi and Rodriguez on all counts for their roles in a scheme to bribe Haiti Teleco officials. They were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and commit wire fraud, seven counts of FCPA violations, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and 12 counts of money laundering. The verdict was reached after five hours of jury deliberations, following a two-and-a-half-week trial. On 25 October 2011, Esquenazi was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Rodriguez was sentenced to 84 months in prison.

On 9 May 2012, both Esquenazi and Rodriguez appealed their guilty verdicts to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging "whether the District Court erred as a matter of law in its jury instruction regarding what constitutes an "instrumentality" of a foreign government for purposes of construing the counts, including the money laundering counts, that were dependent upon the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA")" (Rodriguez), and "Whether the appellant] is entitled to an acquittal because employees of Haiti Teleco were not 'foreign officials' within the meaning of [the] FCPA simply because the National Bank of Haiti owned shares of Haiti Teleco and the Haitian government appoint board members and directors." (Esquenazi).

On 16 May 2014, the 11th Circuit affirmed the DOJ's expansive view of a "foreign official" under the FCPA, upholding Esquenazi and Rodriguez's convictions, and keeping intact the longest prison sentence ever imposed in an FCPA case. A unanimous three-judge panel defined "instrumentality" as "an entity controlled by the government of a foreign country that performs a function the controlling government treats as its own."

On 14 August 2014, Esquenazi and Rodriguez petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review their convictions on FCPA-related charges and to determine whether "an entity controlled by the government of a foreign country that performs a function the controlling government treats as its own" (1) fails to satisfy the constitutional requirement of adequate notice of what specific conduct violates the FCPA, and (2) is erroneously derived from commentary to an unrelated treaty [the OECD anti-bribery convention] that postdates the FCPA's enactment." The writ of certiorari was denied on 8 October 2014.

On 18 May 2015, Rodriguez filed a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. An affidavit from Terra's General Counsel, James Dickey, that no bribes were discussed in any meeting concerning Haiti Teleco was presented as new evidence. On 2 September 2015, the motion was denied as time-barred and new evidence was insufficient to revive the case. On 14 September 2015, Rodriguez submitted a notice with his intention to appeal the decision to deny him a motion for extension of time to file reply to a government brief opposing a new trial.

On 2 June 2015, Rodriguez filed a motion to vacate his sentence based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel and ineffective assistance of appellate counsel.

Amadeus Richers - Cinergy Telecommunications

Amadeus Richers was indicted on charges of violating the FCPA, money laundering, and conspiracy to violate the FCPA, commit wire fraud and commit money laundering.

On 24 February 2017, Richers made his initial court appearance. On 21 June 2017, court filings announced that Richer would plead guilty the following month. On 19 July 2017, Richers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA. Richers will be sentenced on September 20.

On 26 September 2017, Richers was sentenced to time served, placed on supervised release for three years, and ordered to pay $100.

Agencies: United States: Department of Justice

Results: Plea Agreement, Prosecution of Individuals

Year Resolved: 2009

Compliance Monitor: N/A

Ongoing: No

Details:

Juan Diaz - third party intermediary

In Spring 2009, the DOJ charged Juan Diaz with conspiring to make corrupt payments to Haitian officials for the purpose of securing business advantages from Haiti Teleco on behalf of three different Miami-based telecommunications companies, including Terra.

On 15 May 2009, Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and money laundering. He admitted to receiving more than USD 1 million in bribe money from the telecommunication companies and then laundering the money for a former Haitian official.

On 30 July 2010, Diaz was sentenced to 57 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay USD 73,824 in restitution and to forfeit USD 1,028,851.

Agencies: United States: Department of Justice

Results: Conviction, Plea Agreement, Prosecution of Public Officials

Year Resolved: 2010

Compliance Monitor: N/A

Ongoing: No

Details:

Robert Antoine and Jean Rene Duperval - public officials at Haiti Teleco

An indictment unsealed on 7 December 2009 revealed that Robert Antoine and Jean Rene Duperval, two former Directors of International Relations at Haiti Teleco, were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy and substantive counts of money laundering, respectively. 

On 12 December 2009, Antoine was extradited from Haiti to the U.S. and held in Miami on USD 1 million bail.

On 12 March 2010, Antoine pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy count. He agreed to a forfeiture order of USD 1,580,771. On 2 June 2010, Antoine was sentenced to 48 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition to the agreed forfeiture amount, he was also ordered to pay USD 1,852,209 in restitution. After cooperating with the government and testifying as a witness in two of the Haiti Teleco cases, Antoine's four year sentence was reduced to 18 months, on 29 May 2012, when he had already served 16 months of the original sentence.

Duperval was convicted on 12 March 2012 on all counts of conspiracy and money laundering for which he was tried. This included two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and 19 counts of money laundering. The DOJ statement announcing the conviction noted, "To conceal the payment and receipt of bribes, Duperval participated in a money laundering scheme to funnel about half a million dollars to two shell companies under his control...This verdict confirms that American taxpayers will not tolerate bribery, either at home or abroad, to obtain unfair business advantages." Duperval testified in his own defense at trial, claiming that the payments were "tokens of appreciation," not bribes. Judge Martinez found Duperval guilty of perjury on the witness stand, and sentenced him 9 years in prison on 21 May 2012. Duperval was also required to forfeit USD 497,331. Following his sentencing, Duperval appealed with the Eleventh Circuit Court arguing that the district court abused its discretion when considering the potential negative impact on the jury of media reports detailing corruption in Haiti. On 9 February 2015, the federal appeals court rejected Duperval's arguments and affirmed his convictions and sentence. On 2 March 2015, Duperval petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for rehearing his appeal en banc. On 20 August 2015, however, the Court denied Duperval's petition.

Patrick Joseph - Haiti Teleco

On 8 February 2012, Patrick Joseph, former director general of Haiti Teleco, changed his initial not guilty plea to guilty, entering an agreement with the Department of Justice in the hopes of a reduced sentence in exchange for cooperation with the government. Joseph was sentenced on 6 July 2012 to one year and one day imprisonment to begin on 6 August 2012, plus a fine of USD 100, and one year of supervised release following release from prison, based on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

ENTITIES / INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED
  • Terra Telecommunications Corp. (Miami-based telecommunications company)("Terra")
  • Joel Esquenazi (President of Terra)
  • Carlos Rodriguez (former Executive Vice President of Terra)
  • Antonio Perez (former Controller at Terra)
  • Juan Diaz (President of J.D. Locator Services, a Miami-based shell intermediary for three private telecommunications companies)
  • Jean Fourcand (President and Director of Miami-based Fourcand Enterprises Inc.)
  • Marguerite Grandison (former President of Telecom Consulting Services Corp., an intermediary for a Miami-based telecommunications company, and sister of Jean Rene Duperval)
  • Robert Antoine (former Director of International Relations at Haiti’s state-owned Telecommunications D’Haiti)
  • Jean Rene Duperval (former Director of International Relations for Telecommunications at Haiti’s state-owned Telecommunications D’Haiti)
  • Patrick Joseph (former General Director for Telecommunications at Haiti’s state-owned Telecommunications D’Haiti)
  • Venel Joseph (Patrick Joseph's father, governor of the Bank of Haiti, appointed by Jean-Bertrand Aristide, named in the indictment as Official A)
  • Cinergy Telecommunications Inc. (Miami-based telecommunications company) ("Cinergy")
  • Uniplex Telecommunications Inc. (Miami-based telecommunications company related to Cinergy) ("Uniplex")
  • Washington Vasconez Cruz (President of Cinergy and Uniplex)
  • Amadeus Richers (former Director of Cinergy and Uniplex)
  • Cecilia Zurita (former vice president of Cinergy Telecommunications Inc.)
  • Digitek (suspected to be Company A named in indictment, owned by former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's brother-in-law, Lesly Lavelanet)
  • Jean-Bertrand Aristide (former president of Haiti, suspected of being Official B named in indictment)
Details Of How Conduct Was Discovered

Discovery Method: Unspecified

Details:

Country:

Key Takeaways
  • The DOJ will utilize prosecutions of corporate entities to assist in establishing cases against individual wrongdoers, as well as prosecutions of individuals to assist in establishing cases against corporate entities.
  • Where feasible, the DOJ will solicit the assistance of its prosecutorial and investigative counterparts overseas, including those in the countries where the recipients of the bribes resided.
  • In appropriate circumstances, DOJ may bring related charges - such as money laundering charges - against the foreign official recipients in a bribe-tainted transaction, such as where the officials reside in a U.S. state and committed part of the alleged offense while in the U.S.
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