Former US Congressman David Rivera has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of money laundering and acting as an undeclared foreign agent.
Rivera, 61, a former Florida Republican congressman, was found guilty in May following a seven-week trial over allegations that he secretly worked on behalf of Venezuela’s government.
Prosecutors said Venezuela’s state-owned oil company hired Rivera’s consulting firm to influence US lawmakers and help improve relations between Washington and Caracas.
Rivera served in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to forfeit properties he owns in Florida.
Political consultant Esther Nuhfer, who was tried alongside Rivera, was also convicted in the case.
Federal prosecutors in Florida said the pair conducted what they described as a “secret political influence campaign” after securing a $50m (£37m) contract for three months of work on behalf of a US-based subsidiary of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, also known as Citgo.
According to prosecutors, Rivera and Nuhfer carried out lobbying efforts in 2017 and 2018 at the request of the government of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Their efforts allegedly targeted several influential US figures, including then-Senator Marco Rubio and Kellyanne Conway, who was a senior adviser to President Donald Trump at the time.
The lobbying took place as relations between the US and Venezuela deteriorated during Trump’s first administration, which imposed sanctions on the South American country.
Rubio, now US Secretary of State, testified during the trial. He and Rivera had previously been close friends and had shared a home, but Rubio told the court that he did not know Rivera was working as a lobbyist for Venezuelan interests.
Texas Congressman Pete Sessions also testified that he had been unaware of Rivera’s activities.
Rivera and Nuhfer denied wrongdoing and argued that they were not required to register as foreign agents because their contract was formally with a US-based subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned company rather than directly with the Venezuelan government.
However, prosecutors maintained that the money ultimately came from the Maduro government and that the arrangement was designed to conceal the source and purpose of the payments.
During Friday’s sentencing, US District Judge Melissa Damian rejected the distinction raised by the defence.
“There’s no dispute this money came from the Maduro regime,” Damian said.
The court subsequently imposed the 10-year prison sentence on Rivera and ordered the forfeiture of his Florida properties.
The case centred on whether Rivera and Nuhfer had concealed their relationship with the Venezuelan government while attempting to influence US policymakers during a period of heightened tensions between the two countries.
Rubio was not accused of participating in or benefiting from the alleged wrongdoing. His testimony focused on his relationship with Rivera and his claim that he had no knowledge of the former congressman’s lobbying activities.
