Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. ("PDVSA") was the state-owned and state-controlled oil company in Venezuela. Among its subsidiaries were Bariven S.A., which was its procurement subsidiary responsible for equipment purchases, and PDVSA Services, Inc., which was PDVSA's U.S.-based affiliate located in Houston, Texas, and which was responsible for international purchasing on behalf of PDVSA
Roberto Enrique Rincon-Fernandez ("Rincon") was a resident of Texas who controlled, together with others, a number of closely held companies which were used to secure contracts with PDVSA.
Abraham Jose Shiera-Bastidas ("Shiera") was a Venezuelan national who resided in Florida and controlled, together with others, a number of closely held companies which were used to secure contracts with PDVSA.
Luis Carlos de Leon-Perez ("de Leon"), a dual citizen of the United States and Venezuela, had previously been employed by the Venezuelan government but was a private citizen during the time at issue.
Nervis Gerardo Villalobos-Cardenas ("Villalobos"), aka "Enano," a citizen of Venezuela, had previously been employed by the Venezuelan government but was a private citizen during the time at issue.
Cesar David Rincon-Godoy ("Cesar Rincon"), aka "Primo," a citizen of Venezuela, was employed by PDVSA and Bariven, where he worked as the general manager.
Alejando Isturiz-Chiesa ("Isturiz"), aka "Piojo" or "Paulo," a citizen of Venezuela, was an assistant to the president of Bariven.
Rafael Ernesto Reiter-Munoz ("Reiter"), aka "Nadal," a citizen of Venezuela, was head of security and loss prevention at PDVSA.
Javier Alvarado-Ochoa ("Alvarado"), aka "Electrico," a citizen of Venezuela, was the President of Bariven.
Daisy Teresa Rafoi-Bleuler ("Rafoi"), a citizen of Switzerland, was a partner in an unidentified Swiss wealth management firm who acted as an agent of de Leon, Shiera, Rincon, and their U.S.-based companies.
Paulo Jorge da Costa Casquiero-Murta ("Murta"), a citizen of Portugal and Switzerland, was an employee of a different Swiss wealth management firm who acted as an agent of De Leon, Shiera, Rincon, and their U.S.-based companies.
According to the allegations made in the indictment, between at least 2011 and 2013, de Leon and Villalobos engaged in a conspiracy with Rincon and Shiera, as well as others, to bribe Venezuelan officials, including Cesar Rincon, Isturiz, and Reiter, at PDVSA and its subsidiaries in order for Rincon and Shiera to obtain lucrative contracts with PDVSA as well as the opportunity to receive payment priority over other PDVSA vendors on outstanding PDVSA invoices. It was further alleged that de Leon and Villalobos directed Rincon and Shiera to pay the bribes through a variety of Swiss bank accounts in an effort to disguise the bribery and to help ensure that Rincon and Shiera did not end up subjects of internal PDVSA investigations.
On August 23, 2017, the DOJ filed a twenty count indictment under seal in the Southern District of Texas against de Leon, Villalobos, Cesar Rincon, Isturiz, and Reiter alleging (1, 3) conspiracy to commit money laundering, (2) conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA, and (4-20) money laundering and aiding and abetting money laundering. The case was unsealed and announced by the DOJ on February 12, 2017.
According to the DOJ press release issued at the time of the unsealing, de Leon, Villalobos, Cesar Rincon, and Reiter were all arrested in Spain in October 2017 by Spanish authorities on arrest warrants based on the indictment filed here.
Spain extradited Cesar Rincon on February 9, 2018, and he made his initial court appearance on February 12. According to the docket in this case, Cesar Rincon pled guilty on April 19, 2018, but the plea agreement remains under seal. On the same date, the court ordered Cesar Rincon to forfeit $7,033,504.71.
On July 13, 2018, the DOJ filed a two count information in the case against de Leon alleging conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to launder money. On July 16, 2018, the DOJ announced that de Leon had entered into a plea agreement, and on October 2, 2020, the court ordered him to forfeit $18,118,783.15.
On April 24, 2019, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment under seal that added Ochoa, Rafoi, and Murta as defendants. The indictment was unsealed on September 4, 2019.
On October 27, 2020, Rafoi filed a motion to dismiss the counts of the indictment as pertained to her on the grounds that the DOJ lacked jurisdiction to prosecute her. The court granted the motion to dismiss on November 11, 2021. The DOJ subsequently filed an appeal of that order in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 7, 2021.
Murta pled not guilty on July 22, 2021.
On February 8, 2022, Villalobos filed a motion to dismiss the counts of the indictment as pertained to him on the grounds that the DOJ lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him.
On February 21, 2022, Murta filed a motion to dismiss the counts of the indictment as pertained to him on the grounds that the DOJ failed to state an offense, lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him, due process violations, and unconstitutional vagueness. Murta then filed an amended motion to dismiss on February 24, 2022, on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. On July 11, 2022, the court granted Murta's motion to dismiss, accepting his arguments. The DOJ filed an appeal of the dismissal in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
On February 28, 2023, the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of the indictments against both Rafoi and Murta and remanded the case for further proceedings.
On April 3, 2023, Murta filed a motion to dismiss the superseding indictment based on violations of his Sixth Amednment right to a speedy trial, which the court granted on May 17. However, the DOJ moved for a stay of the order granting the dismissal, which the court granted. The DOJ notified the court on June 13, 2023, that it was appealing the dismissal. On November 28, 2023, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court's dismissal but noted that it had failed to properly determine whether the dismissal should have been with or without prejudice. Thus, the case was remanded for proceedings on the issue of prejudice.
On August 7, 2023, the court sentenced de Leon to a year and a day in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a fine of $472,064 and a mandatory assessment of $200.
On May 20, 2024, the DOJ filed a superseding information against Murta alleging a conspiracy to violate the antibribery provisions of the FCPA. The next day, Murta was rearraigned, entered into a plea agreement with the DOJ, and the court sentenced him to time served in prison and ordered him to forfeit $105,000 and to pay a mandatory assessment of $100.
Also on May 21, the court sentenced Cesar Rincon to time served in prison and ordered him to pay a mandatory assessment of $100 in addition to the $7,033,504.71 teh court previously ordered him to forfeit.
Isturiz remains a fugitive.
This case is ongoing.
The DOJ charged Rincon and Shiera in a separate proceeding filed on December 10, 2015.
