Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JULY 24, 2023 21 money laundering. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, Connecticut's U.S. Attorney's office reported $1.45 million in civil forfeitures and $3.8 million in criminal forfeitures, according to the U.S. Attorneys' Annual Statistical Report. Expert: Don't cover up wrongdoing Michael J. Clark, a senior lecturer who teaches criminal justice courses at the University of New Haven and a retired FBI agent, said companies that discover misconduct should tell authorities what happened and cooperate. "For example, if you find out one of your salespeople bribed someone to get work, it is in the company's best interest to come forward and self-dis- close, so the individual is charged, but the company would not be," Clark said. The same concept would hold true if you discover one of your subsid- iaries is colluding with the competition to fix prices, he added. If a company finds out about wrongdoing and doesn't self-disclose, it ultimately is putting itself at more risk, he said. Clark advises that companies have vigorous compliance programs in place and hotlines to report problems. Companies need to conduct thorough internal investigations, too. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) in its 2020 "Report to the Nations," conducted a global study and concluded that about 43% of schemes were detected via a tip, and half of those tips came from employees. "Make (compliance) part of the company culture, and make sure you have the resources in place to contact the government if there is a problem," Clark said. Clark also advises educating workers to help ensure they don't do anything wrong and put the company in peril. And he cautions companies that the worst and biggest mistake would be to try to cover up wrong- doing after learning of it. "There is an FBI adage that you catch people when they are trying to cover up something," Clark said. "The worst thing you can do is try to cover something up and hope it goes away." Attorney Michael Lowe, a former federal prosecutor and a partner with law firm Troutman Pepper, recently co-authored an article on the voluntary self-disclosure policy for the American Bar Association. According to Lowe, there are "many unanswered questions" regarding the interpretation and implementation of the new policy, such as what "timely" disclosure means, as companies often get complaints and then typically spend time investigating them. He foresees that any burden will fall on companies to demonstrate that their disclosure was "timely." "Until we see how the various U.S. Attorney's offices interpret the new policy, we may not see much of a difference in the level of corporate self-disclosure," Lowe said. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL ASSET FORFEITURES BY U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE DISTRICT OF CT FY CIVIL FORFEITURES CRIMINAL FORFEITURES 2022 $1,454,253 $3,848,779 2021 $1,194,928 $1,700,936 2020 $2,165,925 $988,980 2019 $2,050,851 $2,247,437 2018 $4,367,493 $708,285 *A forfeiture allows the government to seize — and then keep or sell — property assets involved in a crime or illegal activity. Source: U.S. Attorneys' Annual Statistical Report Mike Lowe Movers & Shakers The Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce recently welcomed 10 new directors to its board, and elected Christine Malay, director of sales and catering at the DoubleTree by Hilton – Bristol, as board chair. She is joined on the officer slate by Vice Chair Michael Sweeney (Torrington Savings Bank) and Secre- tary Charlie McCormick (Thomaston Savings Bank). Others joining the chamber board include: Ryan Allaire (Tracy | Driscoll), Brian Burke (Bristol Public Schools), Eddie Cunningham (M&T Bank), Gina D'Amico (Tilcon), Mary Etter (Bristol Adult Resource Center), Eric Liegeot (AMP Radio Network), Lori Nohilly-Bullock (Hartford HealthCare), John Seagrave (Barron Financial Group), Kaitlyn Stankus (Bristol Health) and Carolyn Verikas (Dusty Dude Woodworks). The Chamber also promoted Director of Marketing Johnny Burnham to vice president, where he will oversee operations, staff and marketing efforts. Prior to joining the Chamber in October 2022, Burnham led the marketing and public relations team at Bristol Health. Diane Teixeira, vice president of retail banking and sales at Torrington Savings Bank, recently graduated from the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, an executive management school for the financial services industry. Teixeira joined Torrington Savings Bank's management team in 2020 to lead the bank's retail banking initiatives. Hartford accounting and advisory firm Whittlesey announced the promotion of CPA Greg LaCasse to partner. LaCasse joined the firm in 2017 and has 30 years of experience in public and private accounting, including roles with the Big 4, as well as serving as the chief financial officer for an international IT consulting firm. He is an active member of the firm's real estate, construction, and manufacturing niches and specializes in providing tax and advisory services to both businesses and individuals. ADNET Technologies is shaking up its C-suite by separating its president and CEO positions, with longtime employee Lynette Maffei taking over as president. Maffei will now oversee operations and provide support for all ADNET locations. Christopher J. Luise will continue as the Rocky Hill-based cybersecurity and IT services company's CEO, where he'll provide strategic guidance and growth planning for the firm. Maffei joined ADNET in 2015 as controller and has served on the company's executive leadership team as chief financial officer and vice president for the past three years. Shanelle King recently joined Northwest Community Bank as vice president, treasury management. In her new posi- tion, she manages sales and service of the bank's trea- sury services for commercial and municipal customers. King has over 30 years of banking experience with Connecticut insti- tutions, in retail, management, business development and treasury management services. Catholic Charities has named Christine Paine its first senior director of fund development. She joins the nonprofit after many years of raising funds for human service organizations. Her primary role will be managing a compre- hensive fund-de- velopment strategy, which includes major gifts, an annual fund, fundraising events, donor cultivation, and corporate/foundation relations. New Haven bioscience startup Rallybio Corp. announced that Dr. Stephen Uden will be elevated to the CEO position as of Aug. 1. A company co-founder, Uden is currently president and chief operating officer. He will succeed Martin Mackay, who will assume the role of executive chairman, a full-time position through which he will focus on company strategy, investor relations and related activities. Uden was previously head of research at Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. The New Britain-based Commu- nity Foundation of Greater New Britain has promoted two employees. Kaylah Milligan has been promoted to director of philanthropy. Milligan has been with the foundation for more than 10 years and previously served as director of development and community response. Candice Tabone has been promoted to program officer of scholarship and sponsorships, as well as liaison with the Community Chest of New Britain & Berlin. Tabone has been with the foundation for more than four years. Law firm Goldberg Segalla has added Brian L. Smith to its workers' compensation group in Hartford. Smith was previously with Goff Law Group in West Hartford. He has been representing employers, municipali- ties, insurers and third-party admin- istrators in Connecticut workers' compensation claims for more than 30 years. Lynette Maffei Candice Tabone Shanelle King Greg Lacasse Diane Teixeira Christine Paine

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