Categories: Monitoring

A large private sanitation company charged with acts of racketeering was placed under a court-appointed monitor by means of a post-indictment restraining order. The entity had a total of 33 separate legal entities, each of which was placed under a separate monitorship. The monitoring process had several objectives. Preserve the government’s future ownership interest in the company by putting controls in place to protect against the dissipation of assets. Undertake procedures to ensure that the criminal activity giving rise to the indictment is not continuing. Review and approval of all non-recurring expenses prior to disbursement. The monitorships continued until after the government secured criminal convictions at which point the companies were forfeited to the government and thereby ending organized crime’s control over the companies.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York charged a 14-store specialty retail chain of listening devices and other surveillance equipment with the illegal importation of listening devices which included the appointment of a monitor. The role of the monitor was to oversee the continued operation of the store during the pendency of the indictment, take steps to ensure that the criminal activity that gave rise to the indictment was not continuing and to ensure that the assets of the company were not dissipated. The monitorship continued until the company and it’s key executives were convicted at trial after which title vested to the government which then liquidated the company’s assets.