Question 1 (limitation 1800 words) Limit 4 defendants, 3 counts each Rachel Myers and Maria Obedor are the widows of two men tortured and murdered in the country of Aquador in South America. They have retained your Washington, DC law firm, Rodriguez & Chen, to obtain justice for the crimes. Rachel is a citizen of Aquador and her husband, Louis, was a US citizen. Maria is a citizen of Aquador and her husband, Raul Obedor, was also a citizen of Aquador. The two husbands were friends working for a non-profit organization in Aquador called Patriots for Good Governance. There are three Aquadorn witnesses who saw Louis and Raul being dragged from their homes by a dozen HDL soldiers on June 23, 2018. Their bodies were found floating in the Amazon river two days later, disfigured with cigarette burns in multiple places. Aquador is ranked number 123 on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions List. It has a population of 23 million people, 20 million of whom are ethnic Aquadorns and the remaining 3 million people are ethnic Toltecs. The Toltecs have been agitating for years for equal rights, but they have been effectively suppressed through thousands of kidnappings, beatings and murders conducted by a ragtag paramilitary group called the Hijos de la Libertad (HDL). The HDL has been designated by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 2011. The most famous person kidnapped by the HDL was the American movie star Peter Brewer in 2016. Fortunately, he was released after his production company, Brewer Productions, paid a $2 million ransom. Sixty percent of the Aquador GDP comes from raising cattle, and the biggest employer in Aquador is the 60,000-acre Rancho Grande, a subsidiary of ArTex Enterprises, Inc. ArTex is a $3 billion international corporation based in Texas, but officially registered in the British Virgin Islands. Artex makes over $300 million annually from Rancho Grande’s production of beef for international export. Rachel and Maria have provided your firm with a 1-TB hard drive loaded with confidential documents collected by their husbands before they were killed. The documents show that the HDL has been secretly funded and directed by the Aquador Office of Intelligence (AOI) since 2005. They also reveal that ArTex Enterprises has been secretly paying $100,000 per month to HDL for protection of Rancho Grande employees and assistance in resolving disputes with labor unions in Aquador for the past 5 years. Other documents on the hard drive reveal that Rancho Grande sells the bulk of its cattle to Aquadorn Beef Exports, which is 65% owned by the Government of Aquador. The sales agreements are inflated and $120,000 of the profits is distributed each quarter to three powerful Aquadorn politicians in exchange for help in labor disputes, preferential selection for contracts and relaxed oversight of environmental regulations designed to protect the rivers and rain forest. 1 ArTex Enterprises was wiring $260,000 per month for “consulting expenses” from its account at Amarillo State Bank in Amarillo, Texas to account # 39287-25 held by Robin Products at the Bank of Aquador. Robin Products is a company headquartered in Panama and owned by George Robin a wealthy sugar planter, who has large assets in the US, Panama and other Caribbean countries. Mr. Robin usually withdrew all but $20,000 of the $260,000 within 15 days of receipt. He kept $20,000 for himself and then he and one employee distributed cash payments to select HDL and government officials as designated by the CFO of ArTex Enterprises in Amarillo. The remaining $20,000 in the account was electronically transferred by the tenth day of every month to account #82754-36 at Banco del Mar in Miami, Florida. That account is owned by Francine Fontana, the wife of George Fontana, the former deputy commander of AOI. George had been targeted by Louis and Raul as the link between AOI and HDL. In 2016, Francine Fontana bought a $3 million penthouse condominium overlooking the ocean in Key West, Florida. Francine and George reside there now. Bank records photographed by Louis and Raul show that $2500 is wired automatically each month from Francine’s Banco del Mar account to the Baywatch Condominium Association to pay her monthly condo fee. The US government law enforcement agencies are not yet aware of the information you have in hand, and Rachel and Maria cannot afford to pay litigation expenses. However, your supervising partner thinks the firm can take their claims on contingency if you can propose a way forward under US law that has a high probability of substantial recoveries and reasonably contained expenditures. Accordingly, you are tasked with analyzing whether the widows have any actionable claims. Using Template 1 found below, you should (1) identify up to 4 defendants that could be sued by each widow to yield the highest recoveries, (2) state the best 3 claims each widow could bring against each defendant and the statutes authorizing each action, and (3) summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements (elements) of those statutes. Caution: there may not be four possible defendants for each widow, and there may not be three good claims against each defendant. Therefore, you may not have to use all of the boxes provided in the answer templates. Points are awarded for each correct answer, and deducted for each incorrect answer. ****************************** 2 Question 2 (limitation 1800 words) Limit 4 defendants, 4 counts each William S. Brady has been a member of the Louisiana State Senate since 2005. His older brother Jesse Brady is managing partner in the law firm of Brady & Frost in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kevin Palbo is the owner of the Staywell Hospital in Baton Rouge, which is a major provider of orthopedic surgeries that are often paid by the Louisiana State Workers’ Compensation Program (LSWCP). Staywell Hospital bills over $200 million a year to the LSWCP for orthopedic surgeries to injured workers. A former employee of Staywell has informed the FBI that Staywell has been billing LSWCP hundreds of millions of dollars for orthopedic surgeries performed on patients who are referred by dozens of doctors, chiropractors and others who are paid illegal kickbacks from $2,000-$3,000 per patient. Louisiana’s “orthopedic pass-through” law allows a hospital to pass on to LSWCP the full cost of medical hardware (such as ceramic knee and hip implants) used during orthopedic surgeries. Staywell exploits this law by using hardware purchased from companies that Palbo controls at prices inflated over 200%. The entire cost is passed along to LSWCP. Many patients don’t really need the surgery at all. Six months ago the Louisiana Senate started to consider whether to eliminate the “orthopedic pass-through” law. Fearing the collapse of his business, Palbo convinced Senator Brady to torpedo the new legislation by recruiting a fellow senator to introduce legislation favorable to Palbo and convincing other senators to support it. In exchange, Palbo promised that Staywell Hospital would hire the Senator’s brother to handle three legal problems with a $400,000 retainer, the hospital would purchase 1000 copies of a book authored by the Senator (entitled “Horticulture and Me”) at a discount price of $19.99/book, and the hospital would give a summer job to the Senator’s 15-year old son for three years with a salary of $50,000 a year. The plan worked splendidly and Palbo’s bill was enacted into law. The $400,000 retainer was sent to Brady & Frost and deposited in the firm’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Account) bank account, 1000 copies of the Senator’s book were purchased from his publisher, and the Senator’s son was given a nice job at the hospital. The entire $400,000 retainer was transferred from the IOLTA account to a nonprofit entity, Louisianans for Diversity, headed by Jesse and William, and then it was paid out to the brothers as bonuses for a good years work. The brothers then used the money as a down payment for a small vineyard in Sicily, Italy, where they dock their 40foot sailing yacht, the Risky Business. Palbo also owns a second Staywell Hospital in Mexico City, Mexico and he is running the same kind of orthopedic operation scheme there. Three months ago, he was encountering difficulty in renewing his operating license with the Health and Assistance Ministry in Mexico City. Your informant says that he sent his new attorney, Jesse Brady, to Mexico City to speak personally with the minister, Julio Salinas. Minister Salinas agreed to facilitate the grant of the license in exchange for 1 million Mexican pesos paid 3 to Salinas Enterprises, his family company registered in Panama City, Panama. Jesse was able to expedite the payment, and the license was granted within one week. Minister Salinas was very impressed with Jesse’ skill and asked Jesse to help him invest his holdings in Salinas Enterprises (now totaling 32 million Mexican pesos) outside of Mexico. Jesse was happy to do so for a 10% fee, and arranged a purchase of a luxury condo in Miami for $900,000 to be owned by Salinas Enterprises. Mr. Salinas is delighted and plans to bring his family to Miami for a 30-day vacation next month. You are an Assistant US Attorney in Louisiana City, Louisiana. Your assignment is to prepare a memo for the US Attorney using Template 2 attached below that contains: 1. Recommendations for the 4 individuals/entities against whom there are the strongest arguments to prosecute under US law, together with citations to the statutes violated (limit 4) and a short summary of your proof for the elements of each crime; 2. A list of up to 5 assets that might be recovered and a short explanation as to why and under what statutory authorities recovery can be achieved. The US Attorney wants your memo not to exceed 1800 words and limited to four counts per proposed defendant. Caution: You may not have good claims against four defendants, or there may not be four solid claims against each defendant you select. Therefore, you may not have to use all of the boxes provided in the answer templates. Points are awarded for each correct answer, and deducted for each incorrect answer. ***************************** Question 3 (limitation 1500 words) Professor Paulo Hcisal has just won the presidency of the country of Aquador by promising to stop corruption and terrorism in that country. As part of his effort to deliver on his promises, your law firm has been retained as an independent expert to review the anticorruption laws of Aquador to ensure that they are in satisfactory compliance with the international standards contained in the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the FATF 40 Recommendations and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery in International Business Transactions. Your assignment is to review the following 10 summaries of Aquador laws and using the Template 3 attached below, provide a written analysis as to whether each provision is indeed in full compliance with international standards, and if not, state clearly why not. Your analysis must be supported with appropriate citations from the three standardsetting documents referenced above. 4 1. The banking regulations state that: “In order to protect against money laundering and terrorist financing, financial institutions are required to attach the full name, address and account number of every beneficiary of a wire transfer. Financial institutions, including money remitters, shall conduct enhanced scrutiny of and monitor for suspicious activities all funds transfers which do not contain complete beneficiary information.” 2. The banking regulations establish the following with regard to requirements for politically exposed persons (PEPS): “All financial institutions must perform enhanced scrutiny of accounts belonging to individuals entrusted with prominent public functions. This includes reasonable measures to establish the source of wealth and source of funds of such individuals and approval by senior management for establishing accounts in their names. Financial institutions may rely on intermediaries or other third parties to verify information provided by individuals entrusted with prominent public functions only if said intermediaries or third parties post an appropriate protective bond.” 3. The law to prohibit bribery of public officials states: “Any natural person who intentionally gives any money directly to any person holding an administrative or judicial office in a foreign country, in order that the official act or not act in relation to the performance of official duties, shall be guilty of the offense of bribery of public officials. If adjudged guilty, the minimum sentence is one year in prison and the maximum sentence is five years in prison.” 4. The law addressing the provision of mutual legal assistance in money laundering, corruption and terrorist financing cases states: “Mutual legal assistance will be provided to any country upon receipt of a final civil case judgment against any individual which has been certified by the highest court in the requesting country. Upon receipt of such judgment, requests for freezing and recovery of assets will be uniformly granted except where they come into conflict with Banking Regulation 413 which mandates confidentiality for banking records. Mutual legal assistance may be refused in any case where grant of the request is likely to prejudice its sovereignty, security, ordre public, national economic interest, important relations with another State or other essential interests.” 5. The criminal code states: “Upon receiving an appropriate motion from the Minister of Justice, the district courts may upon 10 days notice to all parties freeze until further notice all funds and other assets of any groups designated as a terrorist organization under the authority of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.” 6. The criminal code states: “Where a party makes mutual legal assistance conditional upon the existence of dual criminality, dual criminality shall be deemed to exist if the offense for which the assistance is sought is within the scope of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.” 5 7. The banking regulations contain the following statement with regard to cross-border correspondent banking and other similar relationships: “A financial institution may not enter into correspondent banking arrangements with financial institutions and shell banks in other countries unless it has collected sufficient information about the foreign institution to understand fully the nature of the its business and to determine from publicly available information the reputation of the institution and the quality of supervision, including whether it has been subject to a money laundering or terrorist financing investigation or regulatory action.” 8. The Constitution of Aquador contains the following paragraph to ensure ethical conduct by government officials: “All government employees must file a declaration of assets every three years listing all substantial gifts or benefits received by them which might represent a conflict of interest. Any government minister having proof of any instance of bribery of foreign officials shall report the violation to the Prime Minister within seven days. It is a criminal offense, punishable by up to 6 years in prison for any public official to intentionally embezzle or otherwise divert for his or her benefit any thing of value entrusted to the official by virtue of his or her position.” 9. The Regulations for Corporations state: “Corporations must clearly identify all off-book accounts in a manner permitting proper regulatory oversight, and all nonexistent expenditures should be clearly listed in accounting footnotes. The punishment for violation of these requirements is no less than five years in prison and no more than 10 years.” 10. The law on government operations includes this provision on WMD: “All ministerial agencies are required to coordinate and exchange information internationally with other countries to combat terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This must include compatibility with international anti-bribery provisions and resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly relating to the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to ensure that no funds are made available to or for the benefit of any person or entity designated by the Financial Action Task Force.” ******************* 6 Template 1: Terrorism Case (maxium1800 words) Rachel Myers Defendant #1: In this box, identify the best defendant for Rachel Myers to sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Rachel could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: Defendant #2: In this box, identify a 2d defendant Rachel Myers should sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Rachel could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: 7 Count 2: Count 3: Defendant #3: In this box, identify a 3rd defendant Rachel Myers should sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Rachel could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: 8 Defendant #4: In this box, identify a 4th defendant Rachel Myers should sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Rachel could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: Maria Obedor Defendant #1: In this box, identify the best defendant for Maria Obedor to sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Maria could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: Count 2: 9 Count 3: Defendant #2: In this box, identify a 2d defendant Maria Obedor should sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Maria could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: Defendant #3: In this box, identify a 3rd defendant Maria Obedor should sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Maria could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: 10 Count 2: Count 3: Defendant #4: In this box, identify a 4th defendant Maria Obedor should sue: In the boxes below, list the best 3 claims that Maria could bring against this defendant, the statutes necessary for each claim, and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of the statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: ********************** 11 Template 2: Corruption Case (maxium1800 words) Defendant #1: In this box, identify the best defendant to be prosecuted: In the boxes below, list the statutes under which this defendant can be prosecuted (limit 4), and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of those statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: Count 4: Defendant #2: In this box, identify a second defendant to prosecute: In the boxes below, list the statutes under which this defendant can be prosecuted (limit 4), and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of those statutes. Count 1: Count 2: 12 Count 3: Count 4: Defendant #3: In this box, identify a third defendant to be prosecuted: In the boxes below, list the statutes under which this defendant can be prosecuted (limit 4), and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of those statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: Count 4: 13 Defendant #4: In this box, identify a forth defendant to be prosecuted: In the boxes below, list the statutes under which this defendant can be prosecuted (limit 4), and summarize how the facts satisfy the evidentiary requirements of those statutes. Count 1: Count 2: Count 3: Count 4: Recoverable Assets: In the box below, list up to 5 assets that might be recovered together with a short explanation as to why and under what statutory authorities recovery can be accomplished. 1. 14 Template 3: Gap Analysis - Variances from International Standards of the UNCAC, FATF 40 and OECD Anti-Bribery Convention (maximum 1500 words) 1. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn banking regulations for wire transfers Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 2. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn banking regulations governing PEPs Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 3. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn law governing bribery of public officials. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 4. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn law governing mutual legal assistance Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 15 5. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn law regarding freezing of terrorist assets. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 6. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn provisions regarding dual criminality. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 7. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn regulations with regard to cross-border correspondent banking and other similar relationships. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 8. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn Constitution addressing government ethics. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 9. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn regulations for corporate off-book accounts. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 16 10. In the box below, number and list any significant variances from international standards in the Aquadorn regulations on government operations addressing WMD. Include the name(s) and article number(s) of the governing international charter(s). 1. 17
Purchase answer to see full attachment