California Execs Indicted for Bribing Mexican Officials

Washington – The Grimy Times has learned that Lindsey Manufacturing Company, an Azusa, Calif., company and two of its executives, Keith E. Lindsey and Steve K. Lee, have been indicted for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to pay bribes to Mexican government officials at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), a state-owned utility company.

According to the superseding indictment, from approximately February 2002 until March 2009, Lindsey Manufacturing, Lindsey, Lee and Enrique Aguilar allegedly orchestrated a scheme in which Enrique Aguilar was paid a 30 percent commission on all the goods and services Lindsey Manufacturing sold to CFE, even though this was a significantly higher commission than previous sales representatives for the company had received.

The indictment alleges that Lindsey and Lee understood that all or part of the 30 percent commission would be used to pay bribes to Mexican officials in exchange for CFE awarding contracts to Lindsey Manufacturing Company. The costs of goods and services sold to CFE allegedly were increased by 30 percent to ensure that the added cost of paying Enrique Aguilar was absorbed by CFE and not Lindsey Manufacturing.

Enrique Aguilar allegedly caused fraudulent invoices to be submitted from Grupo to Lindsey Manufacturing for 30 percent of the contract price. According to the superseding indictment, Lindsey and Lee then caused the money requested in the fraudulent invoices to be wired into Grupo’s brokerage account, allegedly knowing that the invoices were fraudulent and the funds were being used as bribes.

Enrique and Angela Aguilar allegedly then laundered the money in the Grupo brokerage account to make concealed payments for the benefit of CFE officials. According to the indictment, Enrique and Angela Aguilar purchased a yacht for approximately $1.8 million named the Dream Seeker and a Ferrari for $297,500 for a CFE official. According to the indictment, Enrique and Angela Aguilar also paid more than $170,000 worth of American Express bills for the benefit of CFE officials.

The indictment also charges Enrique Faustino Aguilar Noriega, 56, and Angela Maria Gomez Aguilar, 55, both of Cuernavaca, Mexico, who were previously indicted on Sept. 15, 2010. Enrique Aguilar is charged with the conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and FCPA violations. Enrique and Angela Aguilar each are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

RELATED: Cred Execs Sentenced in Crypto Fraud Scheme

RELATED: Cred Crypto Execs Face Years for Wire Fraud