Former Florida congressman David Rivera jailed for acting as Venezuelan agent
Key Points(5)
- Congressman David Rivera has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for secretly acting as an unregistered agent of the Venezuelan government and laundering millions of dollars connected to the work.
- According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Rivera and co-defendant Esther Nuhfer secured a $50 million contract with a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.
- (PDVSA), to advance the interests of the Venezuelan government in the United States.
- Rivera and Nuhfer did not register as foreign agents as required by law, prosecutors said.
- officials, including then-U.S.
Former U.S. Congressman David Rivera from Florida has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for secretly acting as an unregistered agent of the Venezuelan government and laundering millions of dollars connected to the work.
U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian imposed the sentence Friday after a federal jury convicted Rivera, 61, of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), violating FARA, conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of engaging in transactions involving criminally derived property.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Rivera and co-defendant Esther Nuhfer secured a $50 million contract with a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), to advance the interests of the Venezuelan government in the United States.
Rivera and Nuhfer did not register as foreign agents as required by law, prosecutors said. They lobbied U.S. officials, including then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, and arranged meetings between U.S. policymakers and senior Venezuelan officials, including then-President Nicolás Maduro and then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez.
The pair also used coded language in text messages to describe their activities, according to evidence presented at trial.
The evidence further showed that Rivera deposited about $1.5 million in proceeds from the contract into his Florida state congressional campaign account between March 2017 and August 2018, among other personal uses, prosecutors said.
Nuhfer used about $455,000 in proceeds to purchase a residence in Key Colony Beach, according to court records.
“Today’s sentence reinforces a simple rule: foreign influence in America cannot operate in the shadows,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said.
He said people acting at the request, direction or control of a foreign government and engaging in covered political activity must comply with U.S. disclosure laws.
“For a former Congressman from South Florida, this betrayal cuts especially deep,” Reding Quiñones said. “Rivera represented a community shaped by generations of families who fled communist oppression and came to this country seeking freedom.”
FBI Miami Field Office Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles said the sentencing was a step toward restoring public trust in the integrity of democratic processes.
“It also demonstrates the impact of federal partners working together and combining their investigative expertise,” Skiles said.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles E. Miller of the IRS Criminal Investigation Florida Field Office said the case demonstrated that illicit funds could not be laundered in the United States without scrutiny.
Nuhfer, 52, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to violate FARA, violating FARA, conspiracy to commit money laundering and engaging in a transaction involving criminally derived property. She was previously sentenced to 60 months in federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harold Schimkat and Roger Cruz, along with Justice Department National Security Division Trial Attorney David Ryan, prosecuted the case.
