FCPA and National Security Objectives Align: DOJ Announces First Settlement Related to Bribes That Benefited Mexican Cartels

On July 17, 2026, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with The Scoular Company (Scoular), an agricultural supply chain company based in Omaha, Nebraska, to resolve allegations that Scoular relied on customs brokers to bribe Mexican government officials to allow Scoular goods to pass customs inspections and be delivered to Mexico from the United States. As part of its resolution, Scoular agreed to pay a $9,769,521 criminal penalty and forfeit an additional $414,351. Scoular also committed to continue cooperating with DOJ on any ongoing or future criminal investigations, implement a compliance and ethics program designed to prevent and detect violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and periodically report to DOJ on remediation and implementation of compliance measures throughout the term of the DPA.

The Bribery Scheme

According to DOJ, between 2013 and 2019, Scoular directed customs brokers to pay bribes to Mexican government officials to ensure Scoular shipments of corn and other goods successfully crossed the border from the United States to Mexico, despite inspections for those shipments identifying dirt, soil, and other impurities. Scoular employees reimbursed the customs brokers for the bribes, usually in the amount of approximately $2,000 per train shipment, and communicated with the customs brokers regarding the bribes via WhatsApp and other channels. In total, Scoular authorized more than $400,000 in bribe payments and avoided fees and costs of more than $6.5 million.

In a related case, one of the customs brokers who paid bribes on behalf of Scoular, Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA on October 23, 2025. On July 20, 2026, he was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine for his role in the scheme.

FCPA Enforcement Used as a Tool to Combat Cartels and TCOs

A key factor in the punishment imposed on Scoular was that a portion of the bribe payments ultimately benefited “persons associated with the criminal operations of a cartel operating at the U.S.-Mexico border.” As such, the DPA constitutes the first public example of DOJ following through on guidance issued in a June 9, 2025, memorandum from Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche that reinstated FCPA investigations at DOJ after President Trump had issued an Executive Order on February 10, 2025 mandating a 180-day pause in opening new FCPA investigations. The Blanche Memorandum specified that a primary factor in future FCPA investigations and enforcement actions would be advancing the administration’s goal of “Total Elimination of Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations, which the administration had previously declared “present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”^[1]

DOJ specified that Scoular was not aware that the proceeds of its bribe payments would ultimately be passed along to a local cartel. Thus, while knowledge that illicit payments will support a cartel or TCO would likely be an aggravating factor in the resolution of any FCPA enforcement action, the lack of knowledge of cartel or TCO involvement may not shield a company from facing severe penalties for providing support, directly or indirectly, to organizations that threaten U.S. national security. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas issued a blunt warning to American businesses engaging in international trade with countries with a significant cartel or TCO presence, especially Mexico: “Nothing crosses into or out of Mexico without the approval [of] and payment to Mexican drug cartels. American businesses that engage in any cross-border trade bear a significant amount of responsibility to do so without benefitting those cartels and without threatening our national security.”

Conclusion

The Scoular case signals that the previously announced FCPA pause is over, and that DOJ continues to bring enforcement actions in line with the factors set forth in the Blanche Memorandum, including corporate enforcement. This latest enforcement confirms DOJ will in fact bring FCPA actions against a company — even in cases involving relatively small individual payments to customs officials, when such payments were made during the first Trump administration, and the company did not know that its bribe payments would benefit cartels — as a tool to combat cartels, TCOs, or any organizations which the administration deems to be a threat to national security. Businesses operating in countries where these types of organizations have footholds should know that the government is actively looking to identify, and impose severe punishments for, any potential compliance failures.

Companies operating in high-risk jurisdictions should evaluate how their current anti-bribery anti-corruption (ABAC) compliance programs would hold up to scrutiny in any potential FCPA or material support for terrorism investigation. For example, Scoular received credit in the DPA for engaging in timely remedial measures such as:

• “Increasing compliance sensitivity throughout the organization.”
• Implementing the findings of an “an external compliance program maturity assessment and an anti-corruption risk assessment.”
• Eliminating the use of customs brokers associated with reinspection fees in Mexico.
• Strengthening risk-based review and monitoring procedures.
• Updating its Code of Conduct and ABAC compliance policies.
• Improving risk-based screening of third-party providers and increasing ABAC provisions in contracts with third parties.
• Implementing revised financial controls for high-risk transactions.
• Providing anti-corruption training to relevant personnel.

While companies may be enhancing compliance programs in response to DOJ’s focus on tariff enforcement, U.S. companies should not overlook compliance practices for their exports into foreign countries.

Companies with business in these high-risk jurisdictions should ensure they have a robust and effective ABAC compliance program in place, and take any remedial actions necessary, before they are the subject of an investigation, both to identify and mitigate the risk of committing any potential FCPA violations. Doing so will also help to ensure they have the option to receive voluntary disclosure credit pursuant to DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy.