Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras was a Brazilian state-owned oil company that refined, produced, and distributed oil, oil products, gas, biofuels and energy.
Glenn Oztemel, a resident of Connecticut, was a senior oil and gas trader at two unnamed trading companies, one of which was later determined to be Freepoint Commodities LLC.
Gary Oztemel, a resident of Connecticut, was the owner and president of Oil Trade & Transport S.A. (OTT) and the owner of Petro Trade Services Inc. Glenn and Gary were brothers.
Eduardo Innecco, a citizen of Brazil and Italy, was an oil and gas broker who worked as an agent for various energy trading companies in Brazil, including the two unnamed trading companies Oztemel worked for as well as a third unnamed trading company, for which he also served as a Vice President of Trading. Innecco also owned and controlled several companies including Albatross Shipping Consultants Ltd., Brazilian Chemicals & Petroleum LTDA, Morgenstern Energy Trading Ltd, and Wertech S.A.
Rodrigo Berkowitz, a Brazilian citizen who resided in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Houston, Texas, worked as a trader at Petrobras America Inc., a wholly-owned American subsidiary of Petrobras.
According to the documents in this case, between approximately mid-2010 and 2018, the Oztemel brothers, Innecco, and others allegedly paid bribes to Petrobras officials, including Berkowitz, for their assistance in helping the trading companies and OTT obtain business with Petrobras. The DOJ alleged that the Oztemels disguised the bribes as purported consulting fees and commissions to Innecco through his various companies. Additionally, Gary used his company Petro Trade to conceal the proceeds of the scheme.
On February 14, 2023, the DOJ filed a seven count indictment in the District of Connecticut against Glenn and Innecco alleging conspiracies to violate the antibribery provisions of the FCPA and to commit money laundering as well as direct violations of the antibribery provisions of the FCPA and money laundering laws.
At his arraignment on February 27, 2023, Glenn pled not guilty.
On August 29, 2023, the DOJ filed a nine count superseding indictment against all Glenn, Gary, and Innecco alleging the same counts as the indictment but adding two counts of money laundering.
In a plea agreement filed on June 24, 2024, Gary agreed to plead guilty to count nine of the superceding indictment.
After a trial culminating on September 26, 2024, a jury found Glenn guilty on all charges. No sentencing date has yet been scheduled.
On October 29, 2024, the court sentenced Gary to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service and ordered him to pay a fine of $8,774, a mandatory assessment of $100, and forfeiture of $301,575.
On January 23, 2025, Glenn moved for an acquittal or new trial on the grounds that the DOJ had failed to prove that the misconduct occurred within the statute of limitations.
This case is ongoing.
In a related proceeding initiated on February 8, 2019, the DOJ filed a single count Information in the Eastern District of New York against Berkowitz alleging conspiracy to commit money laundering. On the same date, Berkowitz entered into a plea agreement with the DOJ, but it does not appear that the agreement has been filed into the docket, so its precise details are unknown. Berkowitz is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, 2023.
