Ex-ITXC Executive Gets 5 Yrs Probation, Fine in Bribery Scheme

A former managing director of ITXC Corp. was sentenced to five years probation for his role in a foreign bribery scheme involving telecommunications contracts in Africa.

Roger Michael Young, 48 years old, of Washington, D.C., also was fined $7,000. His sentence was reduced because he cooperated with the investigation. The sentence includes three months of home confinement and three months in a community confinement center.

In July, former ITXC Vice President Steven J. Ott, 49, of Princeton, N.J., was sentenced to five years probation, including six months in a community confinement center and six months home confinement, and fined $10,000. He also received a reduced sentence because of his cooperation.

Young and Ott pleaded guilty in July 2007 to charges of conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Travel Act. They were accused of paying $267,000 in bribes in the form of illegal "commissions" to employees of foreign state-owned telecommunications carriers in several African countries.

A third defendant, Yaw Osei Amoako, pleaded guilty in 2006 and was sentenced in 2007 to 18 months in prison, a $7,500 fine and two years of supervised release after he leaves prison.

Ott, Young and Amoako pleaded guilty and admitted that they conspired to make corrupt payments to employees of foreign state-owned telecommunications carriers so they would use their influence to assist ITXC in obtaining and retaining contracts with the carriers.

In May, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled with the three men over alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, they were permanently enjoined from future violations of certain securities laws. The SEC said Amoako was also ordered to pay $188,453 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest.

The SEC accused the men of being responsible for the $267,469 in bribes that ITXC paid from August 2001 to May 2004. The agency said ITXC made $11.5 million in net profits from improperly obtained contracts.

Amoako was accused of improperly receiving about $150,000 through embezzlement and a kickback in connection with the bribery scheme.

ITXC was acquired by an entity that was ultimately acquired by Indian telecommunications company Tata Communications.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975; Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com

(David J. Reynolds contributed to this report.)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 2nd September 2008