The conviction of the Ponzi schemer R. Allen Standford and the $3 billion settlement with drug maker GlaxoSmithKline LLC were among the cases ranked by the FBI as its most significant of 2012.
The FBI’s “Year in Review” looks at the top 10 most significant cases related to terrorism and another 10 related to fraud, espionage and cyber crime, among others.
In June, R. Allen Stanford was given a 110-year sentence for his role in a 20-year-long fraud scheme that bilked investors out of $7 billion. The Texan was the chairman of Stanford Financial Group and considered one of the wealthiest men in America until federal law officials accused him of orchestrating a long-running fraud. In November, two former associates of Stanford were also convicted of fraud charges.
It was a big win for the government, which effectively put Stanford away for life. The Wall Street Journal noted his descent from the “rarefied life of a billionaire aboard jets, yachts and homes around the globe” to just another number within federal prison.
Also on the list was the GlaxoSmithKline case, the largest health care fraud settlement in American history. The U.K.-based pharmaceutical giant pleaded guilty in July to unlawfully promoting drugs, failing to report safety data and falsely reporting prices. It agreed to pay $3 billion to resolve the allegations. Deputy Attorney General James Cole at the time called the resolution “unprecedented in both size and scope.”
Also included in the FBI’s list of significant cases were a wide-ranging gang takedown in California, a sweep of child prostitution rings and a crackdown on international computer hackers.