b'involving Rangel was to conceal the bribe paymentsUnited States v. Leonardo Santilli,that U.S.-based contractors made to Rangel to obtainNo. 20-mj-02459 (S.D. Fla.) and United an advantage in securing procurement contracts withStates v. Carlos Enrique Urbano Fermin,PDVSA and the PDVSA Subsidiaries. The DOJ allegesNo. 20-cr-20163 (S.D. Fla.) that senior PDVSA officials instructed Rangel to award Petrocedeo contracts to certain contractors; thatOn March 20, 2020, the DOJ announced two related Rangel agreed to receive bribes from these contractorsFCPA enforcement actions arising from a three-year-in exchange for her help in ensuring that the contrac- long alleged money laundering conspiracy involving tors received Petrocedeo procurement contracts; thatPetrleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), Venezuelas Rangel concealed the nature, source, and ownership ofstate-owned oil company. The alleged conspiracy the bribes by arranging for the bribes to flow throughinvolved four foreign joint ventures that PDVSA controls bank accounts not held in Rangels name; and thatand a subsidiary of PDVSA that purchases materials and Rangel used the bribe proceeds for her own benefit,equipment for the joint ventures (together, the PDVSA including by purchasing property in Miami. Specifically,Subsidiaries). PDVSA controls the procurement the DOJ alleges that a contractor paid Rangel aprocess at the PDVSA subsidiaries.$50,000 bribe payment by transferring funds to a Florida-registered companys bank account for RangelsAs noted above, federal law enforcement began investi-benefit, and that another contractor paid Rangel angating corruption at the PDVSA subsidiaries in late 2017. approximately $1.03 million bribe payment by transfer- The DOJ alleges that, from 2014 to 2017, widescale ring the funds to a bank account in Portugal held bycorruption existed at the PDVSA Subsidiaries involving one of Rangels relatives. The DOJ also alleges thatinflated procurement contracts. Under the alleged Rangel wired approximately $75,000 from the Panamascheme, officials of the PDVSA Subsidiaries authorized account to a Miami account to purchase an apartmentinflated contracts to contractors, often times at four or for her own benefit. The DOJ seeks forfeiture of at leastfive times the value of the underlying goods that the $5 million and the Miami condo that Rangel purchasedPDVSA Subsidiaries were purchasing. After the contrac-with the laundered funds.tors received the money from the inflated contracts, Rangel pleaded guilty on August 11, 2020. Orsonithey paid bribes and kickbacks back to the PDVSA pleaded guilty on August 25, 2020. Neither defen- Subsidiaries officials that had authorized the contracts. dant has been sentenced. In addition to forfeiture andThe contractors disguised the nature of the transac-restitution, Orsoni and Rangel face a maximum 5-yeartions and the recipients of the funds by paying front prison sentence, 3 years of supervised release, and persons and shell entities, rather than paying the kick-a monetary fine of up to twice the amount of illegally-backs directly to the officials of the PDVSA Subsidiaries. obtained property.In late 2017, federal law enforcement began investi-gating corruption at the PDVSA Subsidiaries and the 26'