Agricultural firm Scoular to pay over $10 million to resolve foreign bribery case

The Scoular Company (Scoular), an agricultural supply chain company based in Omaha, Nebraska, will pay over $10 million to resolve a Justice Department investigation into a years-long scheme in which it relied on bribery of Mexican officials to deliver trains of goods across the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Scoular entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed in the Western District of Texas charging the company with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

According to court documents, between 2013 and 2019, Scoular relied on multiple customs brokers to ensure that its shipments of corn and other products successfully crossed from the United States into Mexico. Under Mexican law, those shipments were subject to inspection for dirt, soil, and other impurities. 

To ensure that Scoular’s shipments successfully transited the border despite inspections that found such dirt, soil, and other impurities, Scoular authorised multiple third-party customs brokers to bribe Mexican officials at the border. 

At the direction of Scoular employees, and for Scoular’s benefit, those brokers paid bribes of approximately $2,000 per Scoular train and invoiced the bribes back to Scoular for reimbursement of reinspection fees, which Scoular paid. 

Scoular employees communicated about shipments and bribes via WhatsApp and other means. In total, Scoular authorised bribes of more than $400,000 and avoided fees and costs of more than $6.5 million.

As part of the DPA, Scoular agreed to pay a $9,769,521 criminal penalty and $414,351 in forfeiture. Scoular will also continue cooperating with the department in any ongoing or future criminal investigation arising during the term of the DPA. 

Further, Scoular has committed to implementing a compliance and ethics program designed to prevent and detect violations of the FCPA and other applicable anti-corruption laws throughout its operations. Scoular will periodically report to the department on remediation and implementation of compliance measures throughout the term of the DPA.

The department reached this resolution with Scoular based on a number of factors, including, among others, the nature and seriousness of the offence and the determination during the course of the investigation that, unbeknownst to the company or its employees, a portion of the bribes paid in connection with Scoular’s shipments benefited persons associated with the criminal operations of a cartel operating at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Scoular did not receive voluntary disclosure credit pursuant to the Department of Justice’s Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, because it did not voluntarily and timely disclose to the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section the conduct described in the Statement of Facts. 

Scoular received credit for its cooperation with the department’s investigation, which included conducting an internal investigation, providing evidence and detailed factual presentations, identifying those involved, producing and organising materials in response to the department’s voluntary document requests, notwithstanding certain deficiencies in the early part of the investigation, and securing counsel for current employees.   

Scoular also engaged in timely remedial measures, including increasing compliance sensitivity across the organisation through enhanced business engagement and implementing the findings of an external compliance program maturity assessment and an anti-corruption risk assessment.

In light of these considerations, the criminal penalty reflects a 25% reduction from the bottom of the applicable guidelines range, and the term of the DPA is three years, according to the DOJ.

In a related case, customs broker Carlos Leopoldo Alvelais, who paid bribes on behalf of Scoular, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA on October 23, 2025. Sentencing in that case is scheduled for July 20.