A former member of Congress has been charged with a scheme to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and to launder funds to conceal and promote his criminal conduct.
David Rivera, 59, of Miami, was indicted by a grand jury in the District of Columbia for his alleged role in providing consulting and lobbying services to sanctioned Venezuelan businessman Raul Gorrín.
According to the indictment, Rivera carried out the scheme from in or about June 2019 through in or about April 2020. During this time, he sought to lobby U.S. government officials, including a senior official in the Executive Branch of the U.S. government (Government Official-1), to have Gorrín removed from the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List).
Rivera received over $5.5 million for these activities and willfully failed to register under FARA, as required by law.
To conceal and promote his criminal activities, Rivera created fraudulent shell companies using names associated with a law firm and with Government Official-1 to give the false appearance that the shell companies were legitimate.
The FBI Miami Field Office is investigating the case, and Trial Attorneys Sean O’Dowd and Monica Svetoslavov of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related Federal Cases
- David Rivera, Secretly Lobbying, Florida 2020 · New York
- Letitia James, DOT Funding Freeze Violation, New York NY, 2023 · New York
- Letitia James, False Claims Act Violation, New York 2023 · District of Columbia
- Richard Cohen, RICO Act Violation, Washington DC, 2019 · New York
- James Cherry, Threatening and Conveying False Information Concerning the Use of an Explosive, District of Columbia 2016 · District of Columbia
Key Facts
- State: District of Columbia
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Public CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic Corruption