Former Florida Congressman Indicted on Lobbying and Money Laundering Charges
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has brought charges against former Congressman David Rivera, accusing him of failing to register as a lobbyist for a sanctioned Venezuelan businessman and engaging in money laundering. The U.S. Department of Justice publicized the indictment on Wednesday, detailing Rivera’s alleged illicit activities.
The indictment, released on Tuesday, asserts that Rivera, a Republican from Miami, breached the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) during 2019 and 2020. During this period, Rivera reportedly provided lobbying and consulting services in the United States for Raul Gorrin, a businessman under sanctions.
In January 2019, an office of the U.S. Department of the Treasury placed Gorrin on the “Specialty Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List” due to bribes paid to Venezuela’s national treasurer. Individuals on this list have their U.S. assets frozen, according to the indictment against Rivera.
The Justice Department’s news release specifies, “On Gorrín’s behalf, Rivera sought to lobby U.S. government officials, including a senior official in the Executive Branch of the U.S. government …, to have Gorrín removed from the SDN (the Specialty Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) List. Rivera received over $5.5 million for these activities and willfully failed to register under FARA (the Foreign Agents Registration Act), as required by law.”
Rivera, 59, was a member of the Florida House from 2002 to 2010, where he also chaired the House Appropriations Committee, before serving a term in Congress beginning in 2010. He lost his re-election campaign in 2012.
The former congressman was indicted in 2022 on similar charges related to representing the Venezuelan government. This case is slated for trial in April under U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian, as indicated in the court records.
The latest indictment accuses Rivera of attempting to contact a senior government official, referred to as Government Official-1, on behalf of Gorrin. The document states that Rivera made these attempts “both directly and through a series of intermediaries” and that he “willfully engaged in these activities without registering under FARA.”
Rivera also faces charges of five counts of money laundering, including the use of shell companies, and five counts of “engaging in transactions in criminally derived property.”
The indictment reveals that Rivera received over $5.5 million for his services to Gorrin, with the funds transferred via intermediary companies based in Hong Kong. The funds were funneled through a Florida entity, Interamerican Consulting, which Rivera then used to compensate two individuals who assisted in lobbying efforts for Gorrin. One of these individuals received payment through a Delaware shell company.
