You are on page 1of 43
 
IN
THE
UNITED
STATESDISTRICTCOURT
FOR
THEEASTERN
DISTRICT
OF
VIRGINIA
UNITED
STATES
OF
AMERICAROBERT
F.
MCDONNELL
 Counts1-13)
and
MAUREEN
G.
MCDONNELL, Counts
1-11,13-14)
Defendants.
Richmond
Division
No.
3:14cr
 w
Count
1:18U.S.C.§1349
 Conspiracyto
Commit
Honest-
Services
Wire
Fraud
Counts2-4:
18U.S.C.§1343
 Honest-Services
Wire
Fraud)
Count
5:18U.S.C.§1951
 Conspiracy
to
ObtainProperty
under
Color
of
Official
Right)
Counts
6-11:
18U.S.C.§1951
 ObtainingProperty
under
Color
of
Official
Right)
Counts
12-13:
18
U.S.C.
§1014 False
Statements)
Count
14:18U.S.C.§1512 c 2
Obstruction
of
OfficialProceeding)
Forfeiture
Notice
January2014Term-atRichmond,Virginia
INDICTMENT
THE
GRANDJURYCHARGES
THAT:
Atall
timesrelevant
to
thisIndictment,unless
otherwise
stated:
GeneralAllegations
A
The
Defendants
1.
Defendant
ROBERT
F.
MCDONNELLwas
the
Governor
of
the
Commonwealth
of
Virginia.Hepreviouslyservedasamember
of
theVirginiaHouse
of
Delegatesandasthe
1
Case 3:14-cr-00012-JRS Document 1 Filed 01/21/14 Page 1 of 43 PageID# 1
 
Attorney
General
ofVirginia.
ROBERTMCDONNELL
was
sworn
inasthe
71st
Governorof
VirginiainJanuary2010.
2.
Defendant
MAUREEN
G.
MCDONNELL
was
the
wife
of
ROBERT
MCDONNELLandservedastheFirstLady
of
Virginia.
B.
Relevant
IndividualsandEntities
3.MoBoRealEstatePartners,LLC( MoBo )wasaVirginialimitedliability
companyengagedinthebusiness
of
owningandrentingvacationhomesinVirginiaBeach,
Virginia.ROBERT
MCDONNELLwas
one
of
twomembersof,andhada
50%
personal
financial
interest
in,
MoBo.
4.StarScientific,Inc.( StarScientific )wasaDelawarecorporationwithits
principalexecutiveofficeslocatedinGlenAllen,Virginia.StarScientificwasapubliclytradedcompanyontheNASDAQGlobalMarketunderthetickersymbol STSI. StarScientificwas
involved
in
and
its
activities
affected
interstate
commerce.
5.
JWwas
the
Chief
ExecutiveOfficer
of
Star
Scientific.
C.
The
Governor
and
the
Governor s
Office
6.TheGovernorandtheOffice
of
theGovernor
of
theCommonwealth
of
Virginia
( OGV )performedawiderange
of
officialactions.Thoseactionsincluded,amongotherthings,appointingdirectorsandkeyadministrators
of
statedepartments,agencies,andboards;
authorizingexpenditures
of
certaingrantfunds;proposingabudgetandoverseeingthe
expenditure
of
statefunds;conductingmeetingsandhostingeventsforthepurposes
of
fosteringVirginiabusinessandeconomicdevelopment;directingothergovernmentofficialstoconduct
suchmeetingsandevents;speakingateventsinandoutsideVirginiaaboutVirginiabusinessesandeconomicdevelopment;coordinatingwithstateboards,commissions,andinstitutions,
Case 3:14-cr-00012-JRS Document 1 Filed 01/21/14 Page 2 of 43 PageID# 2
 
includinguniversities,aboutuses
of
statelaborandfundingresources;andotherwisesetting
prioritiesanddirectionfortheCommonwealth
of
Virginia.
7.ThroughouthiscampaignforGovernor,ROBERTMCDONNELLmadeitclear
thatone
of
hishighestprioritiesasGovernorwouldbeactingtopromotethematterandcause
of
economicdevelopmentforbusinessesandindustriesinVirginia,
e g
hiscampaignsloganwas
 Bob's
forJobs. ThroughouthistenureasGovernor,ROBERTMCDONNELLcustomarily
performedofficialactionstopromotethematterandcause
of
economicdevelopment
of
Virginia
businessesandindustries,andhetoutedhiseffortsandactivitiesinsupport
of
thesame.
D.
Background
ofStar
Scientific's
DietarySupplement
Products
8.StarScientificdescribeditselfasa technology-orientedcompanywithamissiontopromotemaintenance
of
ahealthymetabolismandlifestyle. Beginninginorabout2007,thecompanyfocusedonutilizingcertainalkaloidsinthetobaccoplant,namelyanatabine,toaddressissuesrelatedtothedesiretosmoke.StarScientificsubsequentlybeganevaluatinganatabine'spotentialfortreatingchronicinflammationthatthecompanybelievedmightbeassociatedwithdisorderssuchasthyroiditis,diabetes,arthritis,Alzheimer'sdisease,andmultiplesclerosis.
9.StarScientific,throughawhollyownedsubsidiary,engagedinthedevelopment,
manufacture,marketing,
and
sale
of
two
anatabine-baseddietarysupplements:
CigRx®,
a
tobacco
alternative;
andAnatabloc®,
for
anti-inflammatory
support.
10.Thetypes
of
claimsthatStarScientificcouldmakeunderapplicablefederallaw
regarding
itsdietary
supplements
CigRx®
and
Anatabloc®
differedsubstantially
from
those
allowedfordrugmanufacturers.Whiledrugmanufacturerscouldclaimthattheirproducts
woulddiagnose,cure,mitigate,treat,orpreventadisease,dietarysupplementmanufacturerssuchasStarScientificwerelegallyprohibitedfrommakingsuchclaims.Theselegallimitations
Case 3:14-cr-00012-JRS Document 1 Filed 01/21/14 Page 3 of 43 PageID# 3

Reward Your Curiosity

Everything you want to read.
Anytime. Anywhere. Any device.
No Commitment. Cancel anytime.
576648e32a3d8b82ca71961b7a986505