Former US Congressman David Rivera has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of money laundering and acting as an unregistered foreign agent in a multimillion-dollar lobbying scheme.
Rivera, 61, a former Florida Republican congressman who served from 2011 to 2013, was found guilty in May following a seven-week trial. Prosecutors said he and political consultant Esther Nuhfer received a $50 million contract to influence US policymakers on behalf of a US-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, also known as Citgo.
According to prosecutors, the pair carried out the lobbying activities between 2017 and 2018 while relations between Washington and Caracas were strained. They alleged that Rivera and Nuhfer sought to influence then-Senator Marco Rubio and former senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Rubio, who later became US Secretary of State, testified during the trial that although he had been close friends with Rivera and had previously lived with him, he was unaware of the lobbying work.
Texas Congressman Pete Sessions also testified that he had no knowledge of Rivera’s activities.
Rivera’s lawyers argued that the agreement was made with a US subsidiary rather than directly with the Venezuelan government and therefore did not require registration under laws governing foreign agents.
Judge Melissa Damian rejected that argument during Rivera’s sentencing, stating that the evidence showed the money originated from the government of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Nuhfer, who was prosecuted alongside Rivera, was also convicted in the case.
In addition to the prison sentence, Rivera has been ordered to forfeit properties he owns in Florida.
