Alfredo Hawit, Racketeering, New York 2015

A former high-ranking FIFA and CONCACAF official has pleaded guilty to racketeering and corruption charges in a Brooklyn federal court. Alfredo Hawit, a former FIFA vice president and executive committee member, the former president of CONCACAF, and the former president and general secretary of the Honduran soccer federation (FENAFUTH), pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Hawit, who served in high-ranking positions in soccer from 1998 to 2015, negotiated and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for his agreement to exercise his influence as acting president of CONCACAF to award an Argentine sports marketing company the media and marketing rights to CONCACAF tournaments, including the Gold Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League.

Starting in approximately 2008, Hawit also negotiated and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for his agreement to exercise his influence as the FENAFUTH general secretary to award contracts to Media World, a Florida sports marketing company, for the media and marketing rights to the Honduran national soccer team’s home World Cup qualifier matches for the 2014, 2018, and 2022 editions of the World Cup.

As part of his plea agreement, Hawit agreed to forfeit $950,000. At sentencing, Hawit faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count.

The guilty plea was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI, New York Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office.

Hawit, who is 64 years old and from Honduras, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years for each count at sentencing.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-high-ranking-fifa-and-concacaf-official-pleads-guilty-racketeering-and