Former Congressman David Rivera Sentenced to 10 Years for Lobbying Violations

<p>Former Representative David Rivera (R-FL) was sentenced on October 2, 2026, to 10 years in federal prison for secretly lobbying on behalf of the Venezuelan government and laundering millions of dollars associated with that work.</p><p>U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian issued the sentence following Rivera's conviction in May on charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and four counts related to transactions involving criminally derived property.</p><p>Jason A. Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, stated that the sentence illustrates that “foreign influence in America cannot operate in the shadows.”</p><p>Quiñones added, “For a former Congressman from South Florida, this betrayal cuts especially deep. Rivera represented a community shaped by generations of families who fled communist oppression and came to this country seeking freedom. He knew that history. He knew what this community had endured. Yet the jury found that, for millions of dollars, he secretly used the access and relationships entrusted to him to advance the interests of the Maduro regime.”</p><p>Rivera was elected to the House in November 2010 and served one term before losing reelection. He was indicted in 2022.</p><p>The Department of Justice reported that the case involved a $50 million contract that Rivera and co-defendant Esther Nuhfer secured with a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). The DOJ indicated that the pair worked to “advance the interests” of the government of then-President Nicolás Maduro without registering as foreign agents.</p><p>Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Rivera and Nuhfer lobbied U.S. officials, including then-Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Pete Sessions, and facilitated meetings between U.S. policymakers and senior Venezuelan officials, including Maduro and then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez. They also employed coded language in text messages to hide their activities.</p><p>According to the DOJ, Rivera directed $1.5 million from the contract to his campaign account between March 2017 and August 2018.</p><p>“Today’s sentencing represents a meaningful step toward restoring public trust in the integrity of our democratic processes,” said Brett D. Skiles, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Field Office. “It also demonstrates the impact of federal partners working together and combining their investigative expertise. And no attempt to conceal unlawful conduct will remain beyond the FBI’s reach.”</p>