Charged Under 15 U.S.C. 78dd-1 What Happens Next
By the time an FCPA charge is filed, the case is usually years old. The conduct has already been reviewed by a company’s own investigators, documents have been produced, and witnesses have been interviewed, sometimes including the person now charged. An individual defendant therefore enters the process late, facing a record built largely without them. That is difficult but not hopeless, because the record was assembled to answer the company’s questions rather than to prove the elements against a person. This page describes what happens after a charge under 15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1, from the first appearance through resolution. It states no penalty figure, no monetary threshold, and no limitations period for this provision, because the firm publishes such numbers only from verified sources. To discuss a pending charge, call (888) 437-7747.
The First Appearance and Pretrial Release
The first appearance follows promptly after arrest or after a voluntary surrender arranged through counsel. The defendant is advised of the charge and of the right to counsel, and release is addressed. Release is usual in these cases, since the relevant factors are risk of flight and danger to the community. International travel history and foreign ties, which are ordinary features of an FCPA defendant’s life, can nevertheless prompt conditions: passport surrender, travel restrictions, reporting requirements, and limits on contact with former colleagues who may be witnesses. Those conditions can be negotiated, and terms accepted without thought at the first hearing are hard to loosen later. Anything said to agents before counsel is present becomes part of the record, so the answer to questions asked at that stage is a request to speak with a lawyer.
Arraignment, Discovery, and a Cross-Border Record
At arraignment the defendant enters a plea, which is not guilty at this stage in essentially every case, and the court sets a schedule. Federal law requires trial to begin within a defined period subject to exclusions, and the Eastern District of Virginia keeps to a fast schedule. Discovery in an FCPA case is unusually heavy: material produced by the company and its investigators, foreign-language documents and translations, records obtained through cooperation with foreign authorities, financial records from several jurisdictions, and the notes or summaries of internal interviews. Counsel should press early for the internal-investigation material, for translation source documents, and for anything showing what the company told the government about the client.
Pretrial Motions
Motions shape these cases more than most. Common motions seek particulars identifying which payments and which recipients are alleged, dismissal where the charge does not allege that the recipient falls within the statutory categories or that the defendant is covered by the issuer provision, suppression where devices or cloud accounts were searched beyond the scope of the authorization, exclusion of statements taken in an internal interview conducted at the government’s request, and rulings on the admissibility of foreign records and their translations. Every motion also serves to fix the government’s theory in writing, and a theory committed to in advance is far easier to attack than one that adapts as the evidence arrives.
How the Case Is Resolved
Most cases end in a negotiated resolution, and the terms cover much more than the plea. Negotiation reaches which counts are involved, how the value of the payment or of the benefit will be calculated, which Guidelines adjustments will be contested, forfeiture, cooperation, and the treatment of any parallel civil enforcement. Those terms usually influence the sentence more than the decision to plead. Where an element genuinely fails, and in these cases the coverage, recipient, intent, and knowledge elements often do, trial is a rational choice, particularly because a documentary case has a fixed record. The decision belongs to the client, and it should be made once the discovery is understood rather than in the first weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I be detained on an FCPA charge?
Usually not. These are non-violent financial cases and release is the norm. Preparation helps: a proposed set of conditions, verified residence and employment, and a plan for a passport where the client travels internationally for work. Restrictions on contact with former colleagues are common, and their scope is worth negotiating because those colleagues are often the people who know the exculpatory facts.
The company already interviewed me. Does that end my options?
No, though it makes the work harder. What was said in an internal interview is usually written down in a summary rather than recorded, and summaries are contestable. Counsel should obtain what exists, compare it with the documents, and, where the interview was conducted at the government’s request, examine whether the circumstances raise legal issues about how the statement was obtained.
Will the company pay for my defense?
Sometimes. Advancement of fees and indemnification depend on the employment agreement, on corporate documents, and on state law, and they can be conditioned or withdrawn. This should be resolved early and in writing, because the answer affects what defense resources are available, and because a company that has decided to cooperate against individuals may not continue paying.
Can charges still be dismissed after indictment?
It happens. Dismissal follows from a legal defect, from suppression that removes evidence the case depends on, or from the government reassessing a theory once the defense shows that coverage, the recipient category, or intent cannot be proved. A well-supported submission can also narrow a case even where it does not end it.
What about the civil enforcement matter?
It continues on its own track. The civil case may be paused while the criminal matter proceeds, but a pause must be requested and is decided case by case. Testimony demands and deadlines on the civil side can force choices that damage the criminal defense, so both need to be managed together.
Can a foreign authority prosecute the same conduct?
Yes. Several countries enforce their own anti-corruption laws, and agencies share information. A resolution in the United States does not automatically resolve exposure elsewhere, and travel to certain jurisdictions can carry risk while a foreign matter is open. Counsel should map the other proceedings before any resolution is signed.
Working With Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C.
An individual charged under the FCPA enters a case that was largely built before they had counsel, which makes the first weeks after charging decisive. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. defends federal white collar matters from the first appearance through resolution and manages the parallel civil proceeding alongside the criminal case.
Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. The firm has been practicing since 1997. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle criminal defense matters across those jurisdictions, which matters in federal practice because a single investigation frequently reaches conduct, witnesses, and records in more than one state. Mr. Sris brings a background in accounting and information systems from George Mason University, applied to complex financial and technology-related cases.
The firm serves Northern Virginia from 1655 Fort Myer Dr, Suite 700, Room 719, Arlington, VA 22209 and central Virginia from 7400 Beaufont Springs Drive, Suite 300, Room 395, Richmond, VA 23225. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747.
Related pages
This page provides general information about federal FCPA charges under 15 U.S.C. § 78dd-1 and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.
Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Attorney responsible for this advertising: Mr. Sris.
Being charged is one stage of the case. Our page on FCPA charges sets out the offence from start to finish.