Power company exec gets 2½ years in prison in bribery scam

A former executive of French power and transportation company Alstom has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison for bribing Indonesian government officials to secure a $118 million contract to provide power there.

Frederic Pierucci also was fined $20,000 Monday during a federal court hearing in New Haven, Connecticut.

The 49-year-old French citizen was vice president of global sales for an Alstom subsidiary in Windsor, Connecticut. Several other Alstom officials also were indicted. Pierucci pleaded guilty in 2013 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Deloitte hit by cyber-attack revealing clients’ secret emails

Hackers may have accessed usernames, passwords and personal details of top accountancy firm’s blue-chip clients

One of the world’s “big four” accountancy firms has been targeted by a sophisticated hack that compromised the confidential emails and plans of some of its blue-chip clients, the Guardian can reveal.

Deloitte, which is registered in London and has its global headquarters in New York, was the victim of a cybersecurity attack that went unnoticed for months.

One of the largest private firms in the US, which reported a record $37bn (£27.3bn) revenue last year, Deloitte provides auditing, tax consultancy and high-end cybersecurity advice to some of the world’s biggest banks, multinational companies, media enterprises, pharmaceutical firms and government agencies. read more »

Attorney General Madigan Reaches $4.5 Million Settlement With Chicago-Area Gas Stations For Underpaying Illinois Sales Tax

Chicago – Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced a $4.5 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit under the Illinois False Claims Act against 13 Chicago-area gas stations and two gas station owners for sales tax fraud.

Madigan’s lawsuit alleged that since 2002, defendants submitted false monthly sales tax returns to the Illinois Department of Revenue, resulting in millions of dollars of lost tax revenue to the state. The lawsuit alleged defendants operated the scheme by underreporting general merchandise sales and using inaccurate sales tax reporting rates. Ten of the gas stations are currently in operation and are owned by George Nediyakalayil, and Tito Kandarapallil co-owns one of the gas stations with Nediyakalayil. read more »

Jay Peak attorneys got $25,000 kickbacks for each new investor

laintiffs in a lawsuit against the state allege that Bill Stenger, the former CEO and president of Jay Peak Resort, paid $25,000 to immigration attorneys in “kickbacks” for each new investor the lawyers brought into the projects.

New evidence shows that the $25,000 fee agreement was a fill-in-the-blank form Stenger sent to immigration attorneys. Payment was to be made within seven days of receipt of a copy of an investor’s temporary visa approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. In the document provided, Jianming Shen, a New York City attorney, signed an agreement form with Stenger in 2010.

Wei Wang and four other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the state say they were unaware that the attorneys they hired to help them through the EB-5 visa process were also getting payments from Stenger.

The investors say state officials with the Vermont EB-5 Regional Center, who were responsible for overseeing Jay Peak, never took action to investigate allegations about the so-called “finders fees,” which were brought to their attention in 2012. read more »