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Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Prosecutors link LA contract to Smartmatic 'slush fund' as voting tech firm battles Fox in court
MIAMI (AP) — Smartmatic, the elections-technology company suing Fox News for defamation, is now contending with a growing list of criminal allegations against some of its executives — including a new claim by federal prosecutors that a 'slush fund' for bribing foreign officials was financed partly with proceeds from the sale of voting machines in Los Angeles. The new details about the criminal case surfaced this month in court filings in Miami, where the company's co-founder, Roger Pinate, and two Venezuelan colleagues were charged last year with bribing officials in the Philippines in exchange for a contract to help run that country's 2016 presidential elections. Pinate, who no longer works for Smartmatic, has pleaded not guilty. To buttress the case, federal prosecutors are seeking to introduce evidence they argue shows that some of the nearly $300 million the company was paid by Los Angeles County to help modernize its voting systems was diverted to a fund controlled by Pinate through the use of overseas shell companies, fake invoices and other means. Smartmatic itself hasn't been charged with breaking any laws, nor have U.S. prosecutors accused Smartmatic or its executives of tampering with election results. Similarly, they haven't accused Los Angeles County officials of wrongdoing, or said whether they were even aware of the alleged bribery scheme. County officials say they weren't. But the case against Pinate is unfolding as Smartmatic is pursuing a $2.7 billion lawsuit accusing Fox of defamation for airing false claims that the company helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Fox says it was legitimately reporting newsworthy allegations. Smartmatic said the Justice Department's new filing was filled with 'misrepresentations' and is 'untethered from reality.' 'Let us be clear: Smartmatic wins business because we're the best at what we do,' the company said in a statement. 'We operate ethically and abide by all laws always, both in Los Angeles County and every jurisdiction where we operate.' Fox questions Smartmatic's dealings in LA Still, Fox has gone to court to try to get more information about L.A. County's dealings with Smartmatic. The network has long tried to leverage the bribery allegations to undermine Smartmatic's narrative about its business prospects – a key component in calculating any potential damages — and portray it as a scandal-plagued company brought low by its own legal problems, not Fox's broadcasts. South Florida-based Smartmatic was founded more than two decades ago by a group of Venezuelans who found early success working for the government of the late Hugo Chavez, a devotee of electronic voting. The company later expanded globally, providing voting machines and other technology to help carry out elections in 25 countries, from Argentina to Zambia. It was awarded its contract to help with Los Angeles County elections in 2018. The contract, which Smartmatic continues to service, gave the company an important foothold in what was then a fast-expanding U.S. voting-technology market. But Smartmatic has said its business tanked after Fox News gave President Donald Trump's lawyers a platform to paint the company as part of a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. Fox itself eventually aired a piece refuting the allegations after Smartmatic's lawyers complained, but it has aggressively defended itself against the defamation lawsuit in New York. 'Facing imminent financial collapse and indictment, Smartmatic saw a litigation lottery ticket in Fox News's coverage of the 2020 election,' the network's lawyers said in a court filing. Smartmatic has disputed Fox's characterization in court filings as 'lies' and 'another attempt to divert attention from its long-standing campaign of falsehoods and defamation." LA clerk deposed about trip, gifted meal As part of its effort to investigate Smartmatic's work in Los Angeles, Fox has sued to force LA County Clerk Dean Logan to hand over public records about his dealings with Smartmatic's U.S. affiliate. Fox's lawyers also questioned Logan in a deposition about a dinner a Smartmatic executive bought for him at the members-only Magic Castle club and restaurant in Los Angeles and a Smartmatic-paid trip that Logan made to Taiwan in 2019 to oversee the manufacturing of equipment by a Smartmatic vendor. U.S. prosecutors claim that vendor was deeply involved in the alleged kickback scheme in the Philippines. The five-day trip included business class airfare, hotel and numerous meals as well as time for sightseeing, Fox said. 'The trip's itinerary demonstrates that the trip was not a financial inspection or audit. It was a boondoggle,' Fox said in court filings. Logan, who did not report the gifts in his financial disclosures, said in his 2023 deposition that the meal at the Magic Castle was a 'social occasion' unrelated to business and that he was not required to report the trip to Taiwan because his visit was covered by the contract. Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for Logan's office, said in a statement that the bribery allegations are unrelated to the company's work for L.A. County and that the county had no knowledge of how the proceeds from its contract would be used. All of Smartmatic's work has been evaluated for compliance with the contract's terms, Sanchez added, and as soon as Pinate was indicted he and the other defendants were banned from conducting business with the county. As for the trip to Taiwan, Sanchez said another county official joined Logan for the trip and the two conducted several on-site visits and conducted detailed reviews of electoral technology products that were required prior the start of their manufacturing. Logan's spouse accompanied him on the trip, but at the couple's own expense, the spokesman added. 'Unfortunately, this is an attempt to use the County as a pawn in two serious legal actions to which the County is not a party,' Sanchez said. Smartmatic has settled two other defamation lawsuits it brought against conservative news outlets Newsmax and One America News Network over their 2020 U.S. election coverage. Settlement terms weren't disclosed. Prosecutors claim bribe paid in Venezuela U.S. prosecutors in Miami have also accused Pinate of secretly bribing Venezuela's longtime election chief by giving her a luxury home with a pool in Caracas. Prosecutors say the home was transferred to the election chief in an attempt to repair relations following Smartmatic's abrupt exit from Venezuela in 2017 when it accused President Nicolas Maduro 's government of manipulating tallied results in elections for a rubber-stamping constituent assembly. Smartmatic has denied the bribery allegations, saying it ceased all operations in Venezuela in 2017 after blowing the whistle on the government and has never sought to secure business there again. "There are no slush funds, no gifted house," the company said. Instead, it accused Fox of engaging in 'victim-blaming' and attempts to use 'frivolous' court filings 'to smear us further, twisting unproven Justice Department allegations.' ___ Peltz reported from New York. Joshua Goodman And Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
3 minutes ago
- CBS News
Chicago area man remains in ICE custody after wife says they took wrong turn at U.S.-Canada border
A Chicago-area couple claims they were wrongfully detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a wrong turn at the U.S. border with Canada. Sergio Ramirez has been in ICE custody at the Monroe County, Michigan Jail since late May. He is originally from Mexico, but has lived in the Chicago area for about the past 20 years, with a U visa pending for seven. "My heart is broken for my best friend, my husband, with whom we built a life together," said Ramirez's wife, Kristina Ramirez. Kristina Ramirez said her life has been in pieces ever since her husband was detained in late May near the Canadian border by ICE. "I'm very upset, outraged at the injustice in this world," she said. "It's wrong how they have them here." At a church in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood Wednesday, the community, family, elected officials, and civil rights activists rallied in support of Sergio Ramirez's immediate release. "This is a human tragedy about one family, but is also an example of a system that has run amok," said Ed Yohnka, director of communication sad policy for the American Civil Liberties Union Illinois. The couple was in Michigan for their construction business when Kristina Ramirez said they made a wrong turn toward Canada. Kristina said along with Sergio, she was detained for three days despite being a U.S. citizen. Sergio is still being held. "Now our lives are being derailed because we took one wrong turn," said Kristina Ramirez. She added: "My husband is not a murderer. My husband is not a criminal. My husband is a very loving, a good person." Sergio's immigration attorney said the 32-year-old has been in the U.S. waiting for his U visa application to be approved, and he is eligible for permanent residency through his marriage. His immigration status is under deferred action. "Which is essentially protection against deportation from the United States," said attorney Andres Diaz Jr. "This is the most egregious case that I've ever seen." "Without him, I'm heartbroken. I'm torn," said Kristina Ramirez. "It's totally unfair, not right." CBS News Chicago exchanged emails with a spokesperson for ICE, but did not receive any comment or statement. Sergio Ramirez will be back in court next week.
Associated Press
3 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Gymnast who sparked abuse inquiry into coach at elite US academy says she 'needed to speak out'
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Recalling the damage her now-arrested coach inflicted on her and many of her gymnast friends, Finley Weldon said she feels a sense of pride. Free from the grip that Sean Gardner had during her years of training at an Iowa academy known for producing Olympians, Weldon told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview that she is among the few who survived his abuse and are still in the sport. The 18-year-old is heading into her freshman year at Iowa State University, where she'll be a member of the Cyclones gymnastics team. She spoke with the AP on Wednesday, less than a week after Gardner was arrested on a child sexual exploitation charge. 'I didn't want him to take away anything from me, especially something that I love,' she said. 'None of the girls that I started with or went through the things that I did with Sean are still doing gymnastics today. So that's something I'm very proud of.' She's also happy she's made a difference, in the same way gymnasts she admires — like Aly Raisman, an Olympian whose visceral accounts of abuse by Larry Nassar shined a spotlight on the trauma gymnasts went through and how authorities failed to curb it. The AP generally does not identify victims of sexual abuse, but Weldon said she wanted 'my name out there because I was the one who did come forward.' 'I felt like I needed to speak out to stop it from happening to other little girls, so they didn't have to go through what I went through,' Weldon said. 'I knew it would just be a continuous cycle if nobody did.' Gymnasts reported abuse to watchdog in 2022 The FBI said Tuesday it believes Gardner 'targeted children' while coaching at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, and gyms in Mississippi and Louisiana where he worked dating back to 2004. Gardner, 38, didn't return AP messages left on his cellphone before his arrest, and has not entered a plea to the charge. A public defender who represented him after his arrest hasn't returned messages. Another former gymnast at Chow's, the academy known for producing Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas, first reported sexual abuse allegations against Gardner to the U.S. Center for SafeSport in March 2022, alleging he fondled her during training sessions, according to an FBI affidavit. That girl provided the names of six other of Gardner's potential victim, according to the affidavit. Weldon said she spoke with a SafeSport investigator about her abuse at the time. SafeSport, a watchdog created after the Nassar scandal to investigate misconduct complaints, informed the West Des Moines Police Department about the allegations. It suspended Gardner from coaching or having contact with any gymnasts in July 2022. The police department said its investigation was closed in 2022 when the initial accuser decided she did not want to pursue charges. Weldon said police never reached out to her in 2022 but she's unsure whether she would have wanted to press charges then. She said she came forward in April 2024 to West Des Moines police at age 16 after she matured and began to realize the severity of her abuse. She praised police for doing 'an amazing job' keeping her informed about the progress of the case. 'It's definitely taken awhile, but I mean, even I didn't realize how many steps there would be to charge him with anything,' she said. Police defend investigative efforts Iowa investigators say they searched Gardner's home in May and seized electronic devices, which contained images of nude girls from a hidden camera Gardner placed in the bathroom of a Purvis, Mississippi, gym where he previously worked. West Des Moines Police Sgt. Daniel Wade said Wednesday the department sought the FBI's assistance in mid-July when the case's 'scope started to broaden.' Asked why the department didn't involve FBI sooner, he said, 'We call the FBI when the time is right.' Gardner is charged in federal court in Mississippi with producing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which relate to the alleged hidden camera. Federal and state investigations remain active, and additional charges are possible. Wade defended the department's investigative efforts over the last three years. He said investigators 'went as far with it as we could' in 2022, without a victim seeking charges and have been conducting a thorough investigation since receiving the new complaint in 2024. Wade declined comment on whether investigators reached out to Weldon and other potential victims identified in 2022, saying only that police opened 'lines of communication with different people' that later paid off. Weldon said she met with investigators Tuesday and they asked her to identify herself in an image Gardner allegedly secretly took of her in a vulnerable stretching position. Protecting the 'male figure in my life' Weldon said her goal since she was a girl was to reach the elite level in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic program for those who aim to compete internationally. She said she started training at Chow's after her family moved to Iowa in 2015. She began taking private lessons with Gardner two or three times per week shortly after he joined Chow's in September 2018, when she 11 years old. Weldon said she was struggling as her parents went through a divorce and her father was largely absent from her life. She said Gardner sought to fill that role by telling her she could tell him 'anything' and that he would always be there for her. In hindsight, she said he was manipulating her in order to gain her trust. Finley's mother, Julie Weldon, said she heard concerns about Gardner from other parents at Chow's early on and asked her daughter whether her coach had ever done anything inappropriate. Finley said she falsely told her mother no because she was protecting the 'male figure in my life.' Inappropriate behavior progressed She said Gardner began touching her inappropriately in 2019 during lessons, beginning with long hugs and pats on the back. She said his behavior progressed, and he began touching her butt during the hugs and requiring her to stretch for extended periods in positions that exposed her vagina and anus out of her leotard. She said around 2020 he began touching her vagina while spotting her during exercises. She recalled once telling him not to put his hands there and he claimed it was an accident because her 'leotard was slippery.' Weldon recalled reaching her breaking point with Gardner after a 2021 training in which he yelled and threw shoes at her, telling her she'd never reach elite status. She said she walked out and told her mom she wanted to quit. She said many of her classmates quit or didn't return because of Gardner's conduct after the gym shut down during the pandemic. But while he made her hate gymnastics at times, she continued training when her family moved to Texas and then to Utah. She said she eventually proved Gardner wrong by earning elite status and a spot on a Division 1 team. After news of Gardner's arrest, Weldon saw his jail booking photo in the AP story. She said she was struck by how much heavier and unkempt he appeared. 'He's definitely like gone through a spiral,' she said. 'I think he probably just had so much guilt built up in him that he kind of turned into that.'
