Proterial Cable America, a manufacturer of copper and fiberoptic communication cables and other tubing components, received a declination notice from the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to its voluntary self-disclosure and remediation of apparent fraud committed by its employees.
In receiving the declination, Proterial agreed to disgorge more than $15.1 million in ill-gotten gains related to the apparent misconduct, according to the DOJ’s notice dated April 12. The company has already paid back about $6 million and must prove to the DOJ it has paid the remaining total within 90 days.
Proterial received praise from the DOJ for its timely self-disclosure, full cooperation, and efforts to upgrade its compliance program.
The details: The DOJ said its investigation found Proterial, formerly Hitachi Cable America, misrepresented to customers that motorcycle brake hose assemblies it sold met federal safety performance standards. Employees of the company allegedly made false representations to customers, including a motorcycle company and two brake system assemblers, that the brake hose assemblies met certain performance requirements despite failing test results.
The scheme, which occurred from at least December 2006 through April 2022, earned the company approximately $15.1 million in illicit profits through its sales of the noncompliant brake hose assemblies, according to the DOJ.
Compliance considerations: In the case of Proterial, timely self-disclosure to the DOJ meant the company came to the agency “within weeks of an employee raising the issue during an internal audit.”
The company terminated employees involved in the alleged misconduct and invested in the design, implementation, and testing of a risk-based and sustainable compliance program, the agency said.
The company must continue to cooperate with the DOJ in any related investigation under the terms of the declination.
The press department at Proterial did not respond to a request for comment.
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