Former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Larry Thompson Appointed as Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor in Volkswagen AG Emissions Proceedings

5/2/17

The U.S. government has appointed Larry D. Thompson, counsel to Atlanta-based Finch McCranie, LLP and former deputy U.S. attorney general, as the Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor for Volkswagen AG (VW).  Thompson’s appointment is part of VW’s criminal plea agreement stemming from the company’s scheme to sell diesel vehicles containing software designed to cheat on U.S. emissions tests.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Thompson will oversee VW’s compliance reforms and implementation of the terms of the plea agreement over the next three years.  During his tenure as Deputy Attorney General from 2001 to 2003, Mr. Thompson led the DOJ’s National Security Coordination Council, as well as the government-wide Corporate Fraud Task Force.

Prior to serving as Deputy Attorney General, Thompson was a partner with the Atlanta-based law firm of King & Spalding, LLP.  He previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and as Independent Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation.  Before joining Finch McCranie in 2015, Thompson served as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and General Counsel for PepsiCo.

To assist him in monitoring VW’s corporate compliance, Thompson has assembled a team of leading corporate fraud investigators, compliance counselors, and environmental law experts.  Key members of Thompson’s support team include:

  • Executive Deputy Monitor, Jonny Frank, partner with StoneTurn, a leading forensic accounting, compliance and expert services firm, and a DOJ-appointed Independent Compliance and Business Ethics Monitor to a Top 5 global investment bank
  • Deputy Monitor for Anti-Fraud, Ethics and Compliance, Scott Marrah, former assistant U.S. Attorney, currently partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton and Co-Leader of the firm’s Government Enforcement & Investigations team and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee
  • Deputy Monitor for Emissions and Environmental, Benjamin Wilson, chairman of the national environmental law firm Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. and court-appointed monitor in the Duke Energy coal ash cleanup
  • Counsel to the Monitor Michael A. Sullivan, former federal prosecutor and currently partner at Atlanta-based Finch McCranie
  • Counselor to the Monitor David Uhlmann, former chief of DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section and current University of Michigan Law School professor and director of Environmental Law and Policy Program

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