Month: March 2011

Las Vegas Sands FCPA Investigation: What Did Management Do When they First Found Out About Allegations of Bribery and Corruption?

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Earlier this week, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) announced in its 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 that it is the subject of an FCPA investigation:

On February 9, 2011, LVSC received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting that the Company produce documents relating to its compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”). The Company has also been advised by the Department of Justice that it is conducting a similar investigation. It is the Company’s belief that the subpoena may have emanated from allegations contained in the lawsuit filed by Steven C. Jacobs described above. The Company intends to cooperate with the investigations.

Las Vegas Sands says that it is also the target of a similar investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Continue reading

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fraud

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Sarbanes-Oxley has done little to curb corporate malfeasance. Therefore, CFOs should implement a range of fraud-prevention measures.
Laton McCartney – CFO Magazine

As a convicted felon, Sam E. Antar, the former CFO for the now-defunct consumer-electronics chain Crazy Eddie, no doubt has regrets. Among them: he is no longer in the game at a time when corporate fraud is experiencing a resurgence. “If I were out of retirement today, I’d be bigger than Bernie Madoff,” he boasts.In conjunction with CEO Eddie Antar (his cousin), Sam Antar helped mastermind one of the largest corporate frauds in the 1980s, bilking investors and creditors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, he makes a living lecturing about corporate fraud (and shorting the stocks of companies he thinks may have inflated earnings). Continue reading