A Florida-based soccer consultant and a match agent who was once licensed by FIFA pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud plot in a New York City court on Tuesday. He admitted that he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars just to secure media and marketing contracts.
According to Yahoo! News, Miguel Trujillo from Palm Beach County, Florida, was allowed to bail for $1.5 million following his appearance before the U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie in Brooklyn. The judge notified Trujillo, a Columbia citizen and U.S. legal permanent resident, that his appeal to three scheme charges and a single count of filing a false tax return might force his deportation.
The U.S. District Judge also stated that the prosecutors may opt to write a letter on his behalf, urging clemency if he lives up to the terms of his plea settlement. He said that the letter may influence how he is going to sentence Trujillo on charges that otherwise could punish him up to 63 years in prison.
Bloomberg reported that Trujillo was the 13th out of 40 people who were found out guilty in a U.S. crackdown on soccer corruption. The prosecutors claimed that the soccer officials and business executives paid more than $200 million in bribes for media and marketing rights to the tournaments, World Cup citing votes and elections at FIFA, which is soccer's governing body.
As Trujillo pleaded guilty, he admitted to paying bribes to assist Traffic Sports USA Inc. and Media World LLC, win rights to the tournaments. Those proceedings were staged by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, or CONCAF, regional soccer federations, and national federations in Central America and the Caribbean.
U.S. authorities said that he FIFA match agent pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud scheme for his participation in multiple bribery plots. Trujillo was also found guilty to one count of filing false tax return and agreed to pay $495,000 in fine, as mentioned in The Financial Times.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities already charged dozens of FIFA officials, sports marketing executives, and others who took part in the alleged corruption at the head of the sport. As of the moment, Trujillo could not be reached for any comment while his attorney declined to give a comment regarding the accusations.
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