Sullivan

Background

Thomas Rubin and Thomas Sullivan were the Chief Execu- tive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, of 3796 UNITED STATES v. SULLIVAN Focus Media, Inc., a Santa Monica, California-based advertis- ing agency. Geoffrey Mousseau is an attorney who repre- sented Focus in bankruptcy proceedings and other business matters.

Focus was in the advertising placement business. The agency placed commercial advertisements on television and radio for clients including Sears Roebuck & Co., 20th Cen- tury Fox, and Universal City Studios, Inc. Focus’ services included booking air time for its clients’ commercials, track- ing whether the commercials reached their desired audience, and negotiating compensation with stations when advertise- ments failed to air or reach their promised audience.

After commercials aired, media stations sent an invoice to Focus, and Focus in turn invoiced its advertising clients. Focus billed its clients for the actual cost of the air time and charged a fee for its additional services. Focus’ clients were expected to pay within 30 days of receipt of an invoice. Focus in turn paid the media stations 90 days after the commercial…