HOUSTON, TX – A Miami businessman with deep ties to Venezuela confessed today to a sprawling bribery scheme that greased the wheels for his companies to land contracts with Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), and its Houston subsidiary, Citgo Petroleum Corporation. Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino, 48, pleaded guilty to federal charges in a Houston courtroom, admitting to years of corrupt dealings.
Gonzalez, a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen, controlled a network of companies that provided goods and services to PDVSA. According to court documents, from 2012 through 2018, he conspired with others to shower PDVSA officials with bribes in exchange for favorable treatment. The scheme involved payoffs totaling at least $629,000 to Cesar Rincon David Godoy, the former general manager of Bariven, PDVSA’s procurement subsidiary, and Alfonso Eliezer Gravina Munoz, a PDVSA official at PDVSA Services Inc.
The bribery wasn’t limited to Caracas. Gonzalez also admitted to bribing multiple Citgo officials working within the company’s Special Projects group, which handled procurement for PDVSA. He and his co-conspirators allegedly paid at least four Citgo employees and provided gifts to a senior executive. In return, Gonzalez’s companies received priority access to contracts, insider information about the PDVSA bidding process, and expedited payment for invoices—all at the expense of legitimate competitors.
“This case exposes a pattern of corruption at the highest levels of PDVSA and Citgo,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas. “Gonzalez systematically used bribes to gain an unfair advantage, undermining the integrity of the energy market and defrauding the Venezuelan people.” Gonzalez also failed to report multiple foreign bank accounts, a clear attempt to hide the illicit funds flowing through his companies.
The guilty plea from Gonzalez is part of a larger, ongoing federal investigation into widespread corruption at PDVSA. To date, the Justice Department and the Southern District of Texas have brought charges against 21 individuals, with 16 already pleading guilty. Charges remain outstanding against five others. Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced on August 28, 2019. He faces significant prison time and financial penalties for his crimes. The investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division warned that this investigation is far from over. “The Department of Justice remains committed to prosecuting those who exploit foreign markets through bribery and corruption,” he stated. “We will continue to pursue these cases aggressively, no matter where the money trail leads.”
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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