FCPA and Foreign Bribery Sentencing Preparation

Begin with the person and the actual proceeding

A corporate inquiry, SEC investigation and federal criminal prosecution are different proceedings. Identify the actual contact, the person’s role and confirmed deadlines. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act involves anti-bribery and accounting provisions; counsel determines which laws and theories apply. SAG provides individual preparation support rather than corporate compliance advice or a legal opinion about a payment.

Separate the company history from individual conduct

An international business may operate through subsidiaries, distributors and consultants. Map the person’s actual responsibilities by period, with supporting records. Identify what they did, approved and knew at the time. Later discoveries belong in a separate part of the chronology. The organizational chart should help explain the individual record without substituting a company-wide narrative for it.

Build a file counsel can inspect

A defined assignment may produce a professional chronology, source index, responsibility map, factual review questions and preparation calendar. Preserve original records and distinguish them from summaries. Foreign-language, accounting and technical questions may require specialists. Counsel controls collection, privilege decisions, legal responses and submissions. An engagement with SAG does not automatically establish privilege.

Prepare the broader record before consequential decisions

After a plea or conviction, verified personal history, family responsibilities, treatment, character support and documented corrective work may become part of the preparation assignment. Probation prepares the official presentence report. SAG helps organize the underlying record and prepare the individual alongside counsel, without guaranteeing how the institutions involved will assess it.

Connect professional work to practical questions

Joseph De Gregorio is Founder and President of Sentencing Advocacy Group and a Federal Sentencing Strategist. His authored Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax work and Law360 editorial service can be inspected through the publication column. Those credentials do not imply publisher endorsement or special access to courts. His financial-preparation analysis provides a relevant pathway when figures and assumptions need organized review.

Define the engagement and next step

SAG serves clients nationwide from New Jersey, with travel arranged for cases. Individuals, families and defense counsel can begin with the role, stage and deadline. Agree on deliverables and review dates before exchanging sensitive records. SAG is not a law firm and does not provide foreign-law advice, forensic accounting or a corporate anti-corruption certification.

Continue your preparation

• FCPA Investigation Preparation
• Individual Roles in FCPA Matters
• PSR Preparation in FCPA Cases
• Support for defense counsel

Official sources and professional scope

Consult the DOJ and SEC FCPA Resource Guide for legal background and DOJ’s FCPA enforcement guidance with counsel. The resource guide’s second edition dates to 2020 and does not by itself establish current policy. Sources checked November 6, 2026; counsel evaluates current authorities and the individual facts.

SAG provides defined personal and professional preparation: a chronology, source index, factual review questions and practical calendar as agreed. Counsel controls legal advice, responses and submissions. SAG is not a law firm, foreign-law adviser or forensic accounting provider. An engagement does not automatically establish privilege.

Based in New Jersey, SAG serves clients nationwide, with travel arranged for cases. No charging decision, sentence, financial result, placement or release date is guaranteed.

Request a Private Case Review

For counsel: Discuss Support for Your Client. Begin with the role, stage and deadline, not privileged advice or credentials, in the inquiry form.