A grand jury in the District of Columbia has brought forth an indictment against former U.S. Rep. David Rivera. According to the Justice Department (DOJ), Rivera is being charged with a scheme to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). This development was announced today.
According to the indictment, Rivera is accused of carrying out a plot to offer consulting and lobbying services to Raul Gorrín, a sanctioned Venezuelan businessman, between June 2019 and April 2020.
The U.S. attorney’s office added Goren to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List) on January 8, 2019.
According to the indictment, Rivera attempted to lobby a senior official in the U.S. government’s Executive Branch on behalf of Gorrín. The goal was to have Gorrín removed from the SDN List.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Rivera deliberately did not register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) despite receiving more than $5.5 million for his activities.
Rivera engaged in deceitful practices to hide and advance his illicit operations. He accomplished this by establishing bogus shell companies under the guise of a law firm and a government official, thus deceiving others into believing that these entities were genuine and aboveboard, according to the Department of Justice.
The department has confirmed that both the law firm and the official had no connection to the entities mentioned by Rivera, and neither of them was aware that Rivera was using their names.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that Rivera utilized funds acquired from his illicit endeavors to compensate individuals who assisted him in advocating for Gorrín with high-ranking government officials. This was achieved through payments made using one of the shell companies.
It is important to note that an indictment is simply an accusation. In the eyes of the law, all defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
