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Criminal Division Cases

1227 Results

United States v. Carl Zaglin, Aldo Marchena, Francisco Cosenza

A Georgia businessman, a former Honduran government official, and a former Florida resident were indicted for their alleged participation in an international scheme to pay and conceal bribes to Honduran government officials to secure contracts to provide uniforms and other goods to the Honduran National Police in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering laws.

The indictment was returned on November 28, 2023, and was unsealed on December 20, 2023 in the Southern District of Florida. 

Case Open Date:

United States v. Binance Holdings Limited, d/b/a Binance.com

On November 21, 2023, the Department of Justice announced that Binance Holdings Limited (Binance) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and to fail to register as a money transmitting business, failure to register as a money transmitting business, and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, prioritized growth, market share, and profits over compliance with U.S. law in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the U.S. market without implementing controls required by U.S. law. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and will undertake compliance enhancement and remediation and retain an independent monitor. Simultaneously, Binance’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to violating the BSA by causing Binance to violate the BSA by causing Binance to fail to implement an effective anti-money laundering program. This is the Department’s largest corporate guilty plea that also involves the guilty plea of a Chief Executive Officer. This prosecution was led by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

Case Open Date:
Federal Court:
Washington, Western District

United States v. Changpeng Zhao

On November 21, 2023, Binance’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to violating the BSA by causing Binance to violate the BSA by causing Binance to fail to implement an effective anti-money laundering program. Simultaneously, the Department of Justice announced that Binance Holdings Limited (Binance) pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and to fail to register as a money transmitting business, failure to register as a money transmitting business, and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, prioritized growth, market share, and profits over compliance with U.S. law in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the U.S. market without implementing controls required by U.S. law. Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties and will undertake compliance enhancement and remediation and retain an independent monitor. This is the Department’s largest corporate guilty plea that also involves the guilty plea of a Chief Executive Officer. This prosecution was led by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

Case Open Date:
Federal Court:
Washington, Western District

Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (f/k/a Landec Corporation)

Pursuant to the Criminal Division’s Voluntary Self-Disclosure and Corporate Enforcement Policy, on November 16, 2023, the Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California declined to prosecute Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (formerly known as Landec Corporation) for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) because the company voluntarily self-disclosed the misconduct, fully cooperated with the government’s investigation, and timely and appropriately remediated.

As part of the agreement, the company agreed to disgorge the costs it avoided having to pay as a result of the bribery scheme.

From approximately May 2018 to August 2019, certain officers, employees, and agents of Yucatan Foods L.P., Lifecore’s former U.S. subsidiary, paid bribes to one or more Mexican government officials, both prior to and after Lifecore’s acquisition of Yucatan.

Case Open Date: