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New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Court Reinstates Convictions in International Soccer Corruption Case
A federal appeals court on Wednesday reinstated the convictions of a former Fox employee and an Argentine marketing company for paying millions in bribes to secure coveted broadcast rights to soccer tournaments. In a 32-page ruling, a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit wrote that another judge, Pamela K. Chen of Federal District Court in Brooklyn, had erred in overturning the 2023 convictions of the former Fox employee, Hernán López, and the marketing company, Full Play Group. The decision was a victory for Brooklyn prosecutors in a case that arose from the Justice Department's sprawling investigation into corruption by international soccer officials. The affair was revealed by a series of high-profile arrests in Switzerland a decade ago. Prosecutors accused Mr. López, who worked for a unit of what was then known as 21st Century Fox, of scheming to secure the rights to two South American tournaments by making secret payments to the presidents of national soccer federations. Prosecutors also said that Mr. López, a dual American and Argentine citizen, had illicitly helped Fox beat out ESPN for the U.S. broadcasting rights for the 2018 and 2022 men's World Cups by using 'loyalty secured through the payment of bribes.' Fox, which was never accused of wrongdoing, has denied the government's claims. John Gleeson, a lawyer for Mr. López, said he planned to appeal to the Supreme Court. He added in a statement that he had 'no doubt that our client will eventually be fully vindicated.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Court Orders Reinstatement of Convictions of Ex-Fox Executive, Marketing Firm in FIFA Bribery Case
A federal appeals court ordered the reinstatement of the convictions of a former Fox executive and a South American sports media and marketing company in the FIFA bribery investigation. Hernan Lopez, the former CEO of Fox International Channels, was convicted by a jury in March 2023, along with the marketing company Full Play Group SA, of one count each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament. Full Play was convicted of two additional counts each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to World Cup qualifiers and friendlies and to the Copa America, the continent's national team championship. US District Judge Pamela K. Chen, who presided over the trial in Brooklyn federal court, granted a motion for an acquittal in September 2023, citing a May 2023 decision by the US Supreme Court in cases involving Joseph Percoco, an aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and construction firm owner Louis Ciminelli. Chen wrote those decisions meant Lopez's conviction could not be sustained under the honest services fraud statute. The US government then appealed. US Senior Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr. and US Circuit Judges Beth Robinson and Sarah A. L. Merriam vacated Chen's decision and ordered her to reinstate the convictions and to conduct additional proceedings consistent with their opinion. Walker, writing for the panel, said 'the nature of defendants' conduct (bribery) coupled with the character of the relationship between the bribed officials and the organizations to whom they owed a duty of loyalty (employer–employee relationships) place the schemes presumptively within the scope of the statute.' They added: 'The foreign identity of certain organizations and officials does not remove the schemes from the ambit of the statute, especially where, as here, relevant conduct occurred in the United States for the benefit of United States–based executives and organizations (e.g., Lopez and Fox) and the victims were multinational organizations with global operations and significant ties to the United States.' The circuit judges said it was up to Chen to decide whether to grant a defense motion questioning whether the government's evidence was sufficient to prove a conspiracy to deceive the South American governing body CONMEBOL. 'The proceedings that resulted in Hernan's conviction were afflicted with numerous defects,' John Gleeson, a lawyer for Lopez, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. 'Today, the Court of Appeals ruled against us on one discrete legal issue–the same issue that we believe Judge Pamela Chen ruled on correctly when she acquitted our client after trial. We intend to seek review of that issue in the Supreme Court of the United States and have no doubt that our client will eventually be fully vindicated.' Mayling C. Blanco and Michael Martinez, lawyers for Full Play, did not respond to emails from the AP seeking comment. The US Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York had no comment. Dozens of people have pleaded guilty or been convicted after a US-led investigation into FIFA and international soccer. The probe became public in 2015 when US prosecutors accused the leaders of soccer federations of tarnishing the sport for nearly a quarter-century by taking $150 million in bribes and payoffs. 'Corruption in international soccer is not new,' the circuit court wrote. 'It was rampant for decades before the events at issue here.' Fox Corp., which split from a subsidiary of international channels during a restructuring in 2019, was not charged and has denied any involvement in the bribery scandal.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Court orders reinstatement of convictions of ex-Fox executive, marketing firm in FIFA bribery case
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered reinstatement of the convictions of a former Fox executive and a South American sports media and marketing company in the FIFA bribery investigation. Hernan Lopez, the former CEO of Fox International Channels, was convicted by a jury in March 2023 along with the marketing company Full Play Group SA of one count each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament. Full Play was convicted of two additional counts each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to World Cup qualifiers and friendlies and to the Copa America, the continent's national team championship. U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, who presided over the trial in Brooklyn federal court, granted a motion for an acquittal in September 2023, citing a May 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involving Joseph Percoco, an aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and construction firm owner Louis Ciminelli. Chen wrote those decisions meant Lopez's conviction could not be sustained under the honest services fraud statute. The U.S. government then appealed. U.S. Senior Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr. and U.S. Circuit Judges Beth Robinson and Sarah A. L. Merriam vacated Chen's decision and ordered her to reinstate the convictions and to conduct additional proceedings consistent with their opinion. Walker, writing for the panel, said 'the nature of defendants' conduct (bribery), coupled with the character of the relationship between the bribed officials and the organizations to whom they owed a duty of loyalty (employer-employee relationships), place the schemes presumptively within the scope of' the statute. They added: 'The foreign identity of certain organizations and officials does not remove the schemes from the ambit of' the statute, 'especially where, as here, relevant conduct occurred in the United States, for the benefit of United States-based executives and organizations (e.g., Lopez and Fox), and the victims were multinational organizations with global operations and significant ties to the United States.' The circuit judges said it was up to Chen to decide whether to grant a defense motion questioning whether the government's evidence was sufficient to prove a conspiracy to deceive the South American governing body CONMEBOL. 'The proceedings that resulted in Hernan's conviction were afflicted with numerous defects,' John Gleeson, a lawyer for Lopez, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. 'Today, the Court of Appeals ruled against us on one discrete legal issue — the same issue that we believe Judge Pamela Chen ruled on correctly when she acquitted our client after trial. We intend to seek review of that issue in the Supreme Court of the United States, and have no doubt that our client will eventually be fully vindicated.' Mayling C. Blanco and Michael Martinez, lawyers for Full Play, did not respond to emails from the AP seeking comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York had no comment. Dozens of people have pleaded guilty or been convicted after a U.S.-led investigation into FIFA and international soccer. The probe became public in 2015 when U.S. prosecutors accused the leaders of soccer federations of tarnishing the sport for nearly a quarter-century by taking $150 million in bribes and payoffs. 'Corruption in international soccer is not new,' the circuit court wrote. 'It was rampant for decades before the events at issue here.' Fox Corp., which split from a subsidiary of international channels during a restructuring in 2019, was not charged and has denied any involvement in the bribery scandal. ___
Associated Press
a day ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Court orders reinstatement of convictions of ex-Fox executive, marketing firm in FIFA bribery case
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered reinstatement of the convictions of a former Fox executive and a South American sports media and marketing company in the FIFA bribery investigation. Hernan Lopez, the former CEO of Fox International Channels, was convicted by a jury in March 2023 along with the marketing company Full Play Group SA of one count each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to the Copa Libertadores soccer tournament. Full Play was convicted of two additional counts each of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy related to World Cup qualifiers and friendlies and to the Copa America, the continent's national team championship. U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, who presided over the trial in Brooklyn federal court, granted a motion for an acquittal in September 2023, citing a May 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involving Joseph Percoco, an aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and construction firm owner Louis Ciminelli. Chen wrote those decisions meant Lopez's conviction could not be sustained under the honest services fraud statute. The U.S. government then appealed. U.S. Senior Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr. and U.S. Circuit Judges Beth Robinson and Sarah A. L. Merriam vacated Chen's decision and ordered her to reinstate the convictions and to conduct additional proceedings consistent with their opinion. Walker, writing for the panel, said 'the nature of defendants' conduct (bribery), coupled with the character of the relationship between the bribed officials and the organizations to whom they owed a duty of loyalty (employer-employee relationships), place the schemes presumptively within the scope of' the statute. They added: 'The foreign identity of certain organizations and officials does not remove the schemes from the ambit of' the statute, 'especially where, as here, relevant conduct occurred in the United States, for the benefit of United States-based executives and organizations (e.g., Lopez and Fox), and the victims were multinational organizations with global operations and significant ties to the United States.' The circuit judges said it was up to Chen to decide whether to grant a defense motion questioning whether the government's evidence was sufficient to prove a conspiracy to deceive the South American governing body CONMEBOL. 'The proceedings that resulted in Hernan's conviction were afflicted with numerous defects,' John Gleeson, a lawyer for Lopez, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. 'Today, the Court of Appeals ruled against us on one discrete legal issue — the same issue that we believe Judge Pamela Chen ruled on correctly when she acquitted our client after trial. We intend to seek review of that issue in the Supreme Court of the United States, and have no doubt that our client will eventually be fully vindicated.' Mayling C. Blanco and Michael Martinez, lawyers for Full Play, did not respond to emails from the AP seeking comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York had no comment. Dozens of people have pleaded guilty or been convicted after a U.S.-led investigation into FIFA and international soccer. The probe became public in 2015 when U.S. prosecutors accused the leaders of soccer federations of tarnishing the sport for nearly a quarter-century by taking $150 million in bribes and payoffs. 'Corruption in international soccer is not new,' the circuit court wrote. 'It was rampant for decades before the events at issue here.' Fox Corp., which split from a subsidiary of international channels during a restructuring in 2019, was not charged and has denied any involvement in the bribery scandal. ___ AP soccer:
CNA
a day ago
- Sport
- CNA
Two soccer bribery convictions reinstated by US appeals court
NEW YORK :A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday reinstated the convictions of a former Fox executive and an Argentine sports marketing company for trying to bribe soccer officials in exchange for lucrative broadcasting contracts. In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Brooklyn judge erred in throwing out the March 2023 jury verdicts against Hernan Lopez and Full Play Group because she misinterpreted a federal wire fraud law. Lopez plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, his lawyer John Gleeson said in an email, adding that "we are obviously disappointed." Full Play's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The defendants are among more than 40 to face criminal charges in a sweeping U.S. Department of Justice probe unveiled in 2015 into soccer corruption, including at the sport's world governing body FIFA. At least 31 defendants pleaded guilty, and two other soccer officials were convicted by a jury in 2017. Prosecutors said Lopez, a former chief executive of Fox International Channels, schemed to bribe officials at South American soccer federation CONMEBOL to win rights for that continent's most popular club tournament, Copa Libertadores. Full Play was accused of scheming to bribe officials at CONMEBOL and the North American federation CONCACAF to win rights to Copa Libertadores and World Cup qualifying matches. FRAUD LAW 'PRESUMPTIVELY' COVERED BRIBERY In September 2023, U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen said Lopez's and Full Play's convictions could not stand because a federal law addressing honest services wire fraud did not reach alleged foreign commercial bribery. Chen also voided the defendants' money laundering convictions, because they were based on the fraud convictions. But in Wednesday's decision, Circuit Judge John Walker said the wire fraud law applied to the defendants' role in causing bribed soccer officials to breach duties they owed their foreign employers. "The nature of defendants conduct (bribery), coupled with the character of the relationship between the bribed officials and the organizations to whom they owed a duty of loyalty (employer-employee relationships), place the schemes presumptively within the scope of (the law)," Walker wrote. Walker added that the bribery wasn't entirely foreign in nature, saying Lopez and Fox were based in the United States, and bribery victims had significant U.S. ties. The appeals court returned the case to Chen, including to address for the first time whether prosecutors proved a conspiracy to deceive CONMEBOL.
