The Defendants Include Two Current FIFA Vice Presidents and
the Current and Former Presidents of the Confederation of North, Central
American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF); Seven Defendants
Arrested Overseas; Guilty Pleas for Four Individual Defendants and Two
Corporate Defendants Also Unsealed
A 47-count indictment was unsealed early this morning in
federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging 14 defendants with racketeering,
wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offenses, in
connection with the defendants’ participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich
themselves through the corruption of international soccer. The guilty pleas of four individual
defendants and two corporate defendants were also unsealed today.
The defendants charged in the indictment include
high-ranking officials of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association
(FIFA), the organization responsible for the regulation and promotion of soccer
worldwide, as well as leading officials of other soccer governing bodies that
operate under the FIFA umbrella. Jeffrey
Webb and Jack Warner – the current and former presidents of CONCACAF, the
continental confederation under FIFA headquartered in the United States – are
among the soccer officials charged with racketeering and bribery offenses. The defendants also include U.S. and South
American sports marketing executives who are alleged to have systematically
paid and agreed to pay well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks to obtain
lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments.
The charges were announced by Attorney General Loretta E.
Lynch, Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly T. Currie of the Eastern District of New
York, Director James B. Comey of the FBI, Assistant Director in Charge Diego W.
Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office, Chief Richard Weber of the
Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Special Agent in
Charge Erick Martinez of the IRS-CI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
Also earlier this morning, Swiss authorities in Zurich
arrested seven of the defendants charged in the indictment, the defendants
Jeffrey Webb, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Eugenio Figueredo, Rafael
Esquivel and José Maria Marin, at the request of the United States. Also this morning, a search warrant is being
executed at CONCACAF headquarters in Miami, Florida.
The guilty pleas of the four individual and two corporate
defendants that were also unsealed today include the guilty pleas of Charles
Blazer, the long-serving former general secretary of CONCACAF and former U.S.
representative on the FIFA executive committee; José Hawilla, the owner and
founder of the Traffic Group, a multinational sports marketing conglomerate
headquartered in Brazil; and two of Hawilla’s companies, Traffic Sports
International Inc. and Traffic Sports USA Inc., which is based in Florida.
“The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant,
systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” said
Attorney General Lynch. “It spans at
least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their
positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of
victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit
from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold,
to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes
those rights valuable. Today’s action
makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt
practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice – and we
look forward to continuing to work with other countries in this effort.”
Attorney General Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to
the authorities of the government of Switzerland, as well as several other
international partners, for their outstanding assistance in this investigation.
“Today’s announcement should send a message that enough is
enough,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Currie.
“After decades of what the indictment alleges to be brazen corruption,
organized international soccer needs a new start – a new chance for its
governing institutions to provide honest oversight and support of a sport that
is beloved across the world, increasingly so here in the United States. Let me be clear: this indictment is not the
final chapter in our investigation.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Currie extended his thanks to the
agents, analysts and other investigative personnel with the FBI New York
Eurasian Joint Organized Crime Squad and the IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office,
as well as their colleagues abroad, for their tremendous effort in this case.
“As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a
culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the
biggest sport in the world,” said Director Comey. “Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks,
and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA. I want to commend the investigators and
prosecutors around the world who have pursued this case so diligently, for so
many years.”
“When leaders in an organization resort to cheating the very
members that they are supposed to represent, they must be held accountable,”
said Chief Weber. “Corruption, tax evasion
and money laundering are certainly not the cornerstones of any successful
business. Whether you call it soccer or
football, the fans, players and sponsors around the world who love this game
should not have to worry about officials corrupting their sport. This case isn't about soccer, it is about
fairness and following the law. IRS-CI
will continue to investigate financial crimes and follow the money wherever it
may lead around the world, leveling the playing field for those who obey the
law.”
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and
the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Enterprise
FIFA is composed of 209 member associations, each
representing organized soccer in a particular nation or territory, including
the United States and four of its overseas territories. FIFA also recognizes six continental
confederations that assist it in governing soccer in different regions of the
world. The U.S. Soccer Federation is one
of 41 member associations of the confederation known as CONCACAF, which has
been headquartered in the United States throughout the period charged in the
indictment. The South American
confederation, called CONMEBOL, is also a focus of the indictment.
As alleged in the indictment, FIFA and its six continental
confederations, together with affiliated regional federations, national member
associations and sports marketing companies, constitute an enterprise of legal
entities associated in fact for purposes of the federal racketeering laws. The principal – and entirely legitimate –
purpose of the enterprise is to regulate and promote the sport of soccer
worldwide.
As alleged in the indictment, one key way the enterprise
derives revenue is to commercialize the media and marketing rights associated
with soccer events and tournaments. The
organizing entity that owns those rights – as FIFA and CONCACAF do with respect
to the World Cup and Gold Cup, their respective flagship tournaments – sells
them to sports marketing companies, often through multi-year contracts covering
multiple editions of the tournaments.
The sports marketing companies, in turn, sell the rights downstream to
TV and radio broadcast networks, major corporate sponsors and other sub-licensees
who want to broadcast the matches or promote their brands. The revenue generated from these contracts is
substantial: according to FIFA, 70% of its $5.7 billion in total revenues
between 2011 and 2014 was attributable to the sale of TV and marketing rights
to the 2014 World Cup.
The Racketeering Conspiracy
The indictment alleges that, between 1991 and the present,
the defendants and their co-conspirators corrupted the enterprise by engaging
in various criminal activities, including fraud, bribery and money
laundering. Two generations of soccer
officials abused their positions of trust for personal gain, frequently through
an alliance with unscrupulous sports marketing executives who shut out
competitors and kept highly lucrative contracts for themselves through the
systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks.
All told, the soccer officials are charged with conspiring to solicit
and receive well over $150 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for
their official support of the sports marketing executives who agreed to make
the unlawful payments.
Most of the schemes alleged in the indictment relate to the
solicitation and receipt of bribes and kickbacks by soccer officials from
sports marketing executives in connection with the commercialization of the
media and marketing rights associated with various soccer matches and
tournaments, including FIFA World Cup qualifiers in the CONCACAF region, the
CONCACAF Gold Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League, the jointly organized
CONMEBOL/CONCACAF Copa América Centenario, the CONMEBOL Copa América, the
CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, which is organized by the
Brazilian national soccer federation (CBF).
Other alleged schemes relate to the payment and receipt of bribes and
kickbacks in connection with the sponsorship of CBF by a major U.S. sportswear
company, the selection of the host country for the 2010 World Cup and the 2011
FIFA presidential election.
The Indicted Defendants
As set forth in the indictment, the defendants and their
co-conspirators fall generally into three categories: soccer officials acting
in a fiduciary capacity within FIFA and one or more of its constituent
organizations; sports media and marketing company executives; and businessmen,
bankers and other trusted intermediaries who laundered illicit payments.
Nine of the defendants were FIFA officials by operation of
the FIFA statutes, as well as officials of one or more other bodies:
Jeffrey Webb:
Current FIFA vice president and executive committee member, CONCACAF president,
Caribbean Football Union (CFU) executive committee member and Cayman Islands
Football Association (CIFA) president.
Eduardo Li:
Current FIFA executive committee member-elect, CONCACAF executive committee
member and Costa Rican soccer federation (FEDEFUT) president.
Julio Rocha:
Current FIFA development officer. Former
Central American Football Union (UNCAF) president and Nicaraguan soccer
federation (FENIFUT) president.
Costas Takkas:
Current attaché to the CONCACAF president.
Former CIFA general secretary.
Jack Warner:
Former FIFA vice president and executive committee member, CONCACAF president,
CFU president and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) special
adviser.
Eugenio Figueredo:
Current FIFA vice president and executive committee member. Former CONMEBOL president and Uruguayan
soccer federation (AUF) president.
Rafael Esquivel:
Current CONMEBOL executive committee member and Venezuelan soccer federation
(FVF) president.
José Maria Marin:
Current member of the FIFA organizing committee for the Olympic football
tournaments. Former CBF president.
Nicolás Leoz:
Former FIFA executive committee member and CONMEBOL president.
Four of
the defendants were sports marketing executives:
Alejandro Burzaco:
Controlling principal of Torneos y Competencias S.A., a sports marketing
business based in Argentina, and its affiliates.
Aaron Davidson:
President of Traffic Sports USA Inc. (Traffic USA).
Hugo and Mariano
Jinkis: Controlling principals of Full Play Group S.A., a sports marketing
business based in Argentina, and its affiliates.
And one of the defendants was in the broadcasting business
but allegedly served as an intermediary to facilitate illicit payments between
sports marketing executives and soccer officials:
José
Margulies: Controlling principal of
Valente Corp. and Somerton Ltd.
The Convicted Individuals and Corporations
The following individuals and corporations previously
pleaded guilty under seal:
On July 15, 2013, the defendant Daryll Warner, son of
defendant Jack Warner and a former FIFA development officer, waived indictment
and pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with wire fraud and
the structuring of financial transactions.
On Oct. 25, 2013, the defendant Daryan Warner waived
indictment and pleaded guilty to a three-count information charging him with
wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and the structuring of
financial transactions. Daryan Warner
forfeited over $1.1 million around the time of his plea and has agreed to pay a
second forfeiture money judgment at the time of sentencing.
On Nov. 25, 2013, the defendant Charles Blazer, the former
CONCACAF general secretary and a former FIFA executive committee member, waived
indictment and pleaded guilty to a 10-count information charging him with
racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy,
income tax evasion and failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial
Accounts (FBAR). Blazer forfeited over
$1.9 million at the time of his plea and has agreed to pay a second amount to
be determined at the time of sentencing.
On Dec. 12, 2014, the defendant José Hawilla, the owner and
founder of the Traffic Group, the Brazilian sports marketing conglomerate,
waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a four-count information charging him
with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering
conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Hawilla also agreed to forfeit over $151 million, $25 million of which
was paid at the time of his plea.
On May 14, 2015, the defendants Traffic Sports USA Inc. and
Traffic Sports International Inc. pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy.
All money forfeited by the defendants is being held in
reserve to ensure its availability to satisfy any order of restitution entered
at sentencing for the benefit of any individuals or entities that qualify as
victims of the defendants’ crimes under federal law.
* * * *
The indictment unsealed today has been assigned to U.S.
District Court Judge Raymond J. Dearie of the Eastern District of New York.
The indicted and convicted individual defendants face
maximum terms of incarceration of 20 years for the RICO conspiracy, wire fraud
conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering and
obstruction of justice charges. In
addition, Eugenio Figueredo faces a maximum term of incarceration of 10 years
for a charge of naturalization fraud and could have his U.S. citizenship
revoked. He also faces a maximum term of
incarceration of five years for each tax charge. Charles Blazer faces a maximum term of
incarceration of 10 years for the FBAR charge and five years for the tax
evasion charges; and Daryan and Daryll Warner face maximum terms of
incarceration of 10 years for structuring financial transactions to evade
currency reporting requirements. Each
individual defendant also faces mandatory restitution, forfeiture and a
fine. By the terms of their plea
agreements, the corporate defendants face fines of $500,000 and one year of
probation.
The government’s investigation is ongoing.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Evan M. Norris, Amanda Hector, Darren A. LaVerne, Samuel P. Nitze,
Keith D. Edelman and Brian D. Morris of the Eastern District of New York, with
assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs
and Organized Crime and Gang Section.
The Indicted Defendants:
ALEJANDRO BURZACO
Age: 50
Nationality: Argentina
AARON DAVIDSON
Age: 44
Nationality: USA
RAFAEL ESQUIVEL
Age: 68
Nationality: Venezuela
EUGENIO FIGUEREDO
Age: 83
Nationality: USA, Uruguay
HUGO JINKIS
Age: 70
Nationality: Argentina
MARIANO JINKIS
Age: 40
Nationality: Argentina
NICOLÁS LEOZ
Age: 86
Nationality: Paraguay
EDUARDO LI
Age: 56
Nationality: Costa Rica
JOSÉ MARGULIES, also known as José Lazaro
Age: 75
Nationality: Brazil
JOSÉ MARIA MARIN
Age: 83
Nationality: Brazil
JULIO ROCHA
Age: 64
Nationality: Nicaragua
COSTAS TAKKAS
Age: 58
Nationality: United Kingdom
JACK WARNER
Age: 72
Nationality: Trinidad and Tobago
JEFFREY WEBB
Age: 50
Nationality: Cayman Islands
The Convicted Defendants:
CHARLES BLAZER
Age: 70
Nationality: USA
JOSÉ HAWILLA
Age: 71
Nationality: Brazil
DARYAN WARNER
Age: 46
Nationality: Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada
DARYLL WARNER
Age: 40
Nationality: USA, Trinidad and Tobago
TRAFFIC SPORTS INTERNATIONAL INC.
Registered: British
Virgin Islands
TRAFFIC SPORTS USA INC.
Registered: USA
E.D.N.Y. Docket Numbers:
United States v. Daryll Warner, 13 Cr. 402 (WFK)
United States v. Daryan Warner, 13 Cr. 584 (WFK)
United States v. Charles Blazer, 13 Cr. 602 (RJD)
United States v. José Hawilla, 14 Cr. 609 (RJD)
United States v. Traffic Sports International, Inc., 14 Cr.
609 (RJD)
United States v. Traffic Sports USA, Inc., 14 Cr. 609 (RJD)
United States v. Jeffrey Webb et al., 15 Cr. 252 (RJD)
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