Former Florida Representative David Rivera, who was once a member of the Republican Party, has been indicted on charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and laundering funds. The Justice Department has accused him of using these funds to hide and further his illegal activities.
According to the indictment, Rivera is accused of acting as an agent for Raul Gorrín Belisario, a Venezuelan national involved in a corruption scheme to bribe the national treasurer of Venezuela.
According to the grand jury indictment, Rivera attempted to lobby senior U.S. government officials on behalf of Gorrín. His aim was to have Gorrín removed from a list he was placed on due to the allegations of bribery.
According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, individuals who have agreed to represent the interests of a foreign government, either directly or through an intermediary, are required to register with the U.S. government.
According to the indictment, it is also alleged that Rivera engaged in the creation of shell companies with the intention of concealing and furthering his illicit activities. The indictment specifies that this scheme occurred between the years 2019 and 2020.
The FBI’s Miami Field Office, currently handling the investigation, did not provide a comment in response to the request made on Wednesday night. Similarly, there was no immediate response from Rivera’s attorney.
When NBC News inquired about the case’s prosecutors providing additional comments, a representative from the Justice Department declined to respond.
In 2022, Rivera faced arrest and indictment on charges of attempting to act as an agent of the Venezuelan government in the United States without proper registration. Prosecutors claimed that he not only engaged in such activities himself but also influenced others to do the same.
According to The Miami Herald, Rivera dismissed the allegations made under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as “false.” In a statement, he argued that the indictment on Tuesday was “just another politicized indictment against a Republican, right before the Trump administration brings back sanity and fairness to this weaponization of the justice system.”