Guilty plea in Micronesia money laundering case

Master Halbert, a former government official in the Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure in the Federated States of Micronesia, pleaded guilty in US District Court for the District of Hawaii to conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Halbert admitted that an engineering and consulting company based in Hawaii paid bribes to him and other Micronesian officials between 2006 and 2016 to secure contracts worth approximately $8 million.  The owner of the Hawaiian company, Frank James Lyon, pleaded guilty to FCPA conspiracy charges on January 22, 2019, and will be sentenced in May.  Halbert’s sentencing is scheduled for July 2019.

DOJ press release | Minutes (guilty plea) | Complaint