Reynaldo Vasquez, Racketeering Conspiracy, New York 2022

Former FIFA Official Reynaldo Vasquez, 66, of El Salvador, was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment in connection with over $350,000 in bribes that he and other soccer officials from El Salvador received from an American company in exchange for the sale of broadcast rights to the El Salvador soccer team’s World Cup qualifier and friendly matches.

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Vasquez was sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen. Vasquez pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in August 2021.

Vasquez and his co-conspirators participated in and corrupted an enterprise comprising soccer organizing bodies and sports marketing companies. As part of his association with that enterprise, Vasquez and others solicited and received bribes and kickbacks in exchange for awarding lucrative media and marketing contracts.

In 2012, Vasquez, together with other current and former officials of the federation, received approximately $350,000 in bribes in connection with the sale of media and marketing rights to El Salvador World Cup qualifying matches to be played in advance of the 2018 World Cup. This bribe payment was wired from a sports marketing company’s bank account in the United States.

Vasquez ultimately received a portion of his bribe money through a wire transfer sent through the United States. In 2014 and 2015, Vasquez and others agreed to receive tens of thousands of dollars in bribes in connection with the participation of the Salvadorean national team in friendly matches to be played in the United States.

The sentence announced today is part of a long-running investigation into corruption in international soccer led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the FBI New York Field Office, and the IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office.

Vasquez has now been held to account, like the many other corrupt soccer officials who have been exposed by the government’s investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin T. Farrell, Victor Zapana, Eric Silverberg, and Brian D. Morris are in charge of the prosecution.

The investigation is ongoing and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York will continue to work to expose and prosecute those who have engaged in corrupt practices in international soccer.

The prosecutors in Brooklyn have received considerable assistance from attorneys in various parts of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in Washington, D.C., including the Office of International Affairs, the Organized Crime and Gang Section, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and the Fraud Section, as well as from INTERPOL Washington, and various foreign governments.

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