Lee Jae-yong, Samsung Heir, Is Arrested on Bribery Charges

The de facto leader of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, was arrested Friday on bribery charges, a dramatic turn in South Korea’s decades-old struggle to end collusive ties between the government and powerful family-controlled conglomerates.

Mr. Lee, Samsung’s vice chairman, was taken to a jail outside Seoul, the capital, soon after a judge at the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant early Friday.

He is accused of paying $36 million in bribes to President Park Geun-hye’s secretive confidante, Choi Soon-sil, in return for political favors. Those are alleged to include government support for a merger of two Samsung affiliates in 2015 that helped Mr. Lee, 48, inherit corporate control from his incapacitated father, Lee Kun-hee, the chairman.

Samsung, whose market capitalization accounts for one-fourth of the value of all listed companies in South Korea, is a potent national symbol of power, wealth and technological innovation. Mr. Lee is the first head of the conglomerate ever to be arrested on corruption charges. Other charges against him include embezzlement, illegal transfer of property abroad and committing perjury during a parliamentary hearing. read more »

Spain's Princess Cristina Is Cleared In Fraud Trial; Her Husband Gets Prison Time

Princess Cristina, the sister of Spain's King Felipe VI, has been acquitted in an alleged embezzlement scheme — but her husband was found guilty Friday, as a court handed down a prison sentence of more than six years to Iñaki Urdangarín for an assortment of crimes.

"They were accused of embezzling millions of dollars in public donations to a sports charity they ran," Lauren Frayer reports from Madrid for NPR's Newscast unit. "Both are former Olympians. Princess Cristina was the first royal to face criminal charges in Spain's modern history. read more »

Another Navy officer charged in 'Fat Leonard' bribery scandal

As part of an ongoing naval bribery investigation, federal prosecutors arrested a Navy commander on Thursday for accepting bribes from corrupt contractor Leonard Glenn Francis and handing over classified information to him.

Lt. Cmdr. Mario Herrera, 48, was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, and charged in a complaint with conspiracy to commit bribery.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Herrera is expected to eventually appear in San Diego federal court, where the investigation and prosecution of the cases linked to Francis are taking place. 

In a complaint unsealed Thursday, Herrera was charged with accepting gifts, travel, expensive meals and the services of prostitutes from Francis’ company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia. read more »

Theranos had 'no material revenue' over the past two years, report says

Embattled blood-testing start-up Theranos did not have any material revenue in 2015 or 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The company had about $200 million in cash at the end of last year, and had no funds set aside for legal liability, according to the Journal. CNBC has reached out to Theranos for comment.

Theranos, which promised technologies that lower costs and reduced sample size for disease detection, had raised $686 million in equity funding and was once valued at $9 billion by start-up investors, according to data firms Crunchbase and CB Insights. read more »

Doctor, wife pay $1.7M to settle cancer drug billing claims

A cancer doctor and his wife will pay $1.7 million to resolve allegations that they billed Medicare for illegally imported chemotherapy drugs.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said Thursday that Dr. Kenneth Nahum and Ann Walsh were accused of violating the False Claims Act after ordering the drugs from a foreign distributor not approved to sell them in the U.S.

FCPA Continues to Keep a Sharp Eye on Medtech

Because of their deep pockets and extensive contact with overseas government employees, medtech companies remain vulnerable to FCPA violations.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's heightened Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement shows no signs of slowing down. In 2010, the SEC created a specialized unit dedicated specifically to FCPA violations. Not coincidentally, the settlement fees it collected jumped from $644 million in 2009 to $1.8 billion in 2010. Seven years in, medtech companies remain prominently in the mix. read more »

Former Utah real estate guru Rick Koerber will represent himself against Ponzi scheme allegations

Former Utah County real estate guru Rick Koerber will act as his own attorney to fight a new criminal indictment that alleges he operated a Ponzi scheme that took in about $100 million before his companies collapsed.

Koerber pleaded not guilty on Thursday in an initial appearance on the new federal grand jury indictment that charges him with 18 counts of securities and wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charges, which carry the heaviest possible penalty.

Defense attorney Randy Ludlow appeared with Koerber and was expected to be appointed by the court to represent him after Koerber filled out a form saying he couldn't afford to hire is own attorney. read more »

 

 

Sierra Nevada Corporation Pays $14.9m to Settle Allegations of Improper Contract Billings

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has paid $14.9 million to resolve allegations that it violated the federal False Claims Act when it knowingly misclassified certain costs, resulting in inflated overhead rates paid to SNC pursuant to various government contracts, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. read more »