B&D to Assist Larry Thompson as Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor in Volkswagen AG Emissions Proceedings
A Beveridge & Diamond team led by Chairman Ben Wilson (Washington, DC) will assist Larry Thompson, Counsel to Finch McCranie, LLP, and former Deputy U.S. Attorney General, whom the U.S. government has appointed as the Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor for Volkswagen AG (VW). Larry’s appointment is part of VW’s criminal plea agreement stemming from the company’s scheme to sell diesel vehicles containing software designed to cheat on U.S. emissions tests.
To assist him in monitoring VW’s corporate compliance, Larry has assembled a team of leading corporate fraud investigators, compliance counselors, and environmental law experts. He selected Ben to be the Deputy Monitor for Emissions and Environmental issues. Ben currently serves as the court-appointed monitor in the Duke Energy coal ash cleanup and has advised numerous corporate and municipal clients on significant environmental matters. Principals Tom Richichi (Washington, DC), whose practice focuses on engine emissions, and Pete Anderson (Washington, DC), a former Assistant U.S. Attorney board certified in corporate compliance by the Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics, will also support Larry’s work as corporate compliance monitor.
Additional members of the monitor support team include: Executive Deputy Monitor, Jonny Frank, a Partner with StoneTurn, and a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)-appointed Independent Compliance and Business Ethics Monitor to a Top 5 global investment bank; Deputy Monitor for Anti-Fraud, Ethics and Compliance, Scott Marrah, former Assistant U.S. Attorney, currently Partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Co-Leader of the firm’s Government Enforcement & Investigations team, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee; and Counsel to the Monitor Michael Sullivan, former federal prosecutor and currently Partner at Finch McCranie.
In a press release issued on Friday, April 21, the day VW was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Detroit, MI, the DOJ stated that Larry will oversee VW’s compliance reforms and implementation of the terms of the plea agreement over the next three years.
