FCPA Scorecard Blog
Two Additional Businessmen Plead Guilty in Petroleos Scheme
On January 10, it was announced that two additional defendants, Juan Jose Hernandez Comerma and Charles Quintard Beech III, owners of Florida and Texas-based energy companies, had pleaded guilty to foreign bribery charges related to a scheme to corruptly secure energy contracts from Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
According to admissions by Hernandez and Beech, they conspired with other previously charged defendants from 2008 through 2012 to pay bribes and other things of value, including recreational travel, meals, and entertainment to Petroleos officials to obtain energy contracts or receive payment for previously awarded contracts. Some of the bribes were paid to a Petroleos official’s relative to conceal the nature, source, and ownership of the bribe.
In total, eight individuals have now pleaded guilty in cases related to the government’s investigation into bribery at Petroleos. The government’s investigation is ongoing. Previous FCPA Scorecard coverage on the Petroleos investigations can be found here.