Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino, Bribery of Public Official, Florida 2024

$629,000 in Bribes

Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino, a 48-year-old dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen, has been arrested at Miami International Airport on charges of conspiring to make and making corrupt payments to a Venezuelan official in exchange for business favors with state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

According to a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas, Gonzalez, who controlled multiple companies, paid at least $629,000 in bribes to a former PDVSA official for directing contracts to his companies, giving priority to receive payments, and awarding contracts in U.S. dollars instead of Venezuelan bolivars.

The charges come as part of a larger investigation by the U.S. government into bribery at PDVSA, which has announced charges against 17 individuals, 12 of whom have pleaded guilty.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, and Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston Field Office made the announcement.

Gonzalez was arrested on an arrest warrant based on a criminal complaint and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lauren F. Louis of the Southern District of Florida.

The charges contained in the complaint are merely allegations and Gonzalez is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Prosecutors from the Southern District of Texas, along with the Justice Department’s Fraud Section, will be handling the case, with the Fraud Section responsible for investigating and prosecuting all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters.

The Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

The investigation is being conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston, with assistance from HSI in Boston and Miami.

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