The United States Attorney's Office

FILM EXECUTIVE AND SPOUSE INDICTED FOR PAYING BRIBES TO A THAI TOURISM OFFICIAL TO OBTAIN LUCRATIVE CONTRACTS

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matt Friedrich of the Criminal Division and United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien announced today that a Los Angeles-area film executive and his spouse who were previously charged with bribing a Thai government official have been charged in a superseding indictment that adds allegations of bribery in relation to a series of contracts that brought the couple at least $14 million in revenue.

Gerald Green, 75, and Patricia Green, 52, both of West Hollywood, were named in a new indictment returned Wednesday afternoon that accuses them of paying kickbacks to a former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in exchange for receiving contracts for an “elite privilege card” marketed to wealthy foreigners, calendars, a book, a website, a video featuring Thailand, and a TAT logo. These contracts allegedly resulted in more than $14 million in revenue to businesses owned by the Greens and approximately $1.8 million in bribe payments for the governor.
 
The Greens were originally indicted in January 2008 on charges of paying bribes to the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in connection with securing contracts to operate and manage the annual Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) from 2002-2007. 

According to the superseding indictment, the Greens formed Film Festival Management, Inc. (FFM), a Los Angeles-based film company, in 2002 to obtain the BKKIFF contract.  As charged, from 2002 and continuing into 2007, the Greens conspired with others to bribe a senior Thai government official who was, at the time, the president of the BKKIFF and the governor of the TAT.  As a result of her position at the TAT, the governor was able to influence the awarding of the BKKIFF contracts and other TAT-related contracts.  The superseding indictment charges that the Greens used different business entities, some with dummy business addresses and telephone numbers, in their dealings with the TAT in order to hide the large amount of money the Greens were being paid under the contracts. The superseding indictment further charges that the Greens disguised the bribes as “sales commission” payments and made the payments for the benefit of the governor through the foreign bank accounts of intermediaries, including bank accounts in the name of the governor’s daughter.

The indictment specifically charges the Greens with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States by paying bribes to a foreign public official in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and by engaging in money laundering, 10 counts of violating the FCPA, seven counts of transportation promotion money laundering, one count of a transaction in criminally derived property, two counts of false subscription of tax returns, and one count of forfeiture.

The conspiracy and FCPA charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, each of the false subscription charges carries a 10-year maximum sentence, and each of the money laundering counts carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case is being prosecuted by DOJ Trial Attorney Jonathan E. Lopez and DOJ Contract Attorney Allan J. Medina of the Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Searby of the Central District of California. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

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Release No. 08-134
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