Stuart Carson, Foreign Bribery, California 2012

Two former executives of a California valve company pleaded guilty to foreign bribery offenses in a California court.

Stuart Carson, the former president of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based Control Components Inc. (CCI), and Hong “Rose” Carson, the former CCI director of sales for China and Taiwan, pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The Carsons pleaded guilty to making a corrupt payment to a foreign government official in violation of the FCPA. According to court documents, CCI designed and manufactured service control valves for use in the nuclear, oil and gas, and power generation industries worldwide.

On April 8, 2009, the Carsons and four other former executives of CCI were charged in a 16-count indictment for their roles in the foreign bribery scheme. The Carsons, who are married and reside in San Clemente, Calif., each pleaded guilty late yesterday before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, Calif., to separate one-count superseding informations charging them with making a corrupt payment to a foreign government official in violation of the FCPA.

At sentencing, Stuart Carson, 73, faces up to 10 months in prison. Rose Carson, 48, faces a sentence of three years probation, which may include up to six months of home confinement. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2012.

Control Components Inc. (CCI), a Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.-based valve company, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act, and two substantive violations of the FCPA. CCI was ordered to pay an $18.2 million criminal fine, placed on organizational probation for three years, and ordered to create and implement a compliance program and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Charles G. La Bella and Trial Attorney Andrew Gentin of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Douglas McCormick and Gregory Staples of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and its team of special agents dedicated to the investigation of foreign bribery cases.

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