NEW BERN
A company that bought a criminal investigation supply firm agreed Tuesday to pay a fine of up to $12.6 million in response to accusations that the firm's former president violated his previous plea agreement for illegally trading with China.
U.S. Chief District Judge Louise W. Flanagan in New Bern accepted a deferred prosecution agreement and settlement for Sirchie Acquisition Company LLC of Youngsville, according to federal court documents. In exchange, federal attorneys won't pursue a 10-count criminal information unsealed against Sirchie.
The government alleged the ex-president of the former Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories didn't comply with the terms of a 2005 plea that barred him from regulated overseas commerce for five years.
The ex-president and once majority owner isn't identified in Tuesday's documents. His lawyer named him as former state Sen. John Carrington, who received a year's probation and an $850,000 fine stemming from the earlier plea for illegally shipping law enforcement equipment to China.
Evidence collected in a January 2008 search shows Carrington had participated in setting prices for a host of products intended to be sold overseas, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh said in a news release.
Sirchie Acquisition Company had bought Carrington's firm two weeks earlier and afterward operated the business substantially as it had been before. While all of the criminal conduct had occurred prior to the purchase, Sirchie Acquisition "acknowledged its responsibility as a successor-in-interest," the U.S. Attorney's release said.
In a statement, Sirchie said the decision to hold the current company "accountable for the actions of the old company is unfortunate" but respects the government's decision.
"We chose to settle the matter because we believe it is in the best interests of our customers, employees, suppliers and other constituents," Sirchie said in a statement.
Sirchie, whose parent is Raymond James Financial Inc. of Florida, will be restricted in export transactions for another five years and must continue compliance efforts that could trim $1.5 million from the total penalty, according to the settlement.
The criminal information discusses possible wrongdoing by Carrington, 75, who served five terms in the Senate. Carrington's situation is not resolved, his attorney Wade Smith said Tuesday evening.
"This is an extraordinarily complex situation and we are very pleased that the civil aspects of the case have been resolved," Smith said in an interview. "Now we can turn our attention to the criminal part of the case."
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