Washington, DC: Former Ogilvy & Mather executives Shona Seifert and Thomas Early each face up to five years in prison after being found guilty this week on 10 counts that they defrauded the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
While at Ogilvy & Mather, the ad firm hired by the Drug Czar’s Office to create ad spots for the $1.2 billion “National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign,” the duo conspired to doctor time-sheets to fraudulently increase the number of hours billed to the ONDCP, prosecutors charged.
A 2001 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that time-sheets for 28 Ogilvy & Mather employees were altered to reflect more than 3,100 hours worth of work that had not taken place. The firm had previously agreed to a civil settlement with the US Justice Department in 2002 regarding the overbilling.
The White House had continued to pay Ogilvy & Mather to produce anti-drug public service announcements until last year.
For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.