This May 14, 2013 file photo shows the Justice Department headquarters building in Washington early in the morning. (AP/J. David Ake)
(NewsNation) — A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida has indicted the former financial director of Stericycle's Latin American division on charges of participating in a scheme to pay more than $10 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil. Mexico and Argentina announced Tuesday, the Justice Department said.
Mexico's Abraham Cigarroa Cervantes, 51, and others are suspected of orchestrating hundreds of bribe payments between 2011 and 2016, court documents reveal. The bribes were allegedly given to government officials to secure business contracts and benefits for Stericycle, a U.S. waste management company.
According to the Department of Justice, employees at Stericycle offices in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina are suspected of helping pay bribes, often in cash, calculated as a percentage of contract payments from government clients.
Cigarroa and his co-conspirators allegedly tracked these payments through spreadsheets using code words and euphemisms. False records were reportedly maintained to conceal the illegal transactions, causing Stericycle to inaccurately record bribe payments as legitimate expenses.
According to the Department of Justice, Cigarroa is charged with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to violate the bookkeeping provisions.
If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
In April 2022, Steriskri admitted to bribing officials in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina in violation of the FCPA. As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Stericycle agreed to pay more than $84 million.
