David Rivera, a former Miami-Dade congressman, has filed a lawsuit against Hugo Perera, a cooperating witness in a federal criminal case against Rivera involving unregistered lobbying for Venezuela. The suit, filed before a Miami federal court, accuses Perera's marketing companies of violating confidentiality agreements by disclosing information, including a 2018 legal memo, to federal prosecutors.
Perera, a former cocaine trafficker turned businessman, played a key role in securing a $50 million consulting contract for Rivera's firm, Interamerican Consulting, with PDV USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA. Perera was paid $5 million for making introductions, but Rivera's lawsuit is seeking to recover these funds.
Rivera's consulting contract, signed in 2017, tasked his firm with improving the public image of PDV USA's primary interest, CITGO, a Houston-based oil refinery. However, prosecutors allege the agreement was a front for lobbying efforts on behalf of the Venezuelan government to influence U.S. policy. Rivera and associate Esther Nuhfer were indicted in December 2023 for conspiracy, money laundering, and failing to register as foreign agents.
Rivera suing a cooperating witness in his federal case for damages from their lucrative business dealings is rather unusual, though not unprecedented. As Joseph DeMaria, a Miami defense attorney who once worked on the organized crime strike force in South Florida told The Miami Herald:
"Rivera is not the first defendant in a criminal case to try to undermine a cooperating witness by suing them. Usually, the government can put a stop to the civil lawsuit until the criminal prosecution is completed"
Rivera's lawsuit against Perera could complicate the criminal case as such actions may allow Rivera to question Perera under oath, potentially undermining him as a witness. However, Rivera risks exposing himself to questioning that could strengthen the government's case.
Perera's disclosure of the 2018 legal memo is central to Rivera's suit as it outlines their business relationship. While a magistrate ruled the memo was not protected by attorney-client privilege, that decision is under appeal.
Court filings reveal Rivera funneled $13 million of his PDV USA income to subcontractors, including Perera and Venezuelan businessman Raúl Gorrín. Gorrín, indicted separately on corruption charges, is alleged to have facilitated Rivera's contract with PDV USA. Gorrín also faces federal charges in Miami over allegations of conspiring to launder $1.2 billion reportedly taken from the government of the South American country.
This legal battle is tied to broader investigations into lobbying activities for Venezuela. Rivera and Nuhfer allegedly met with U.S. lawmakers and Venezuelan officials to normalize relations between the countries, efforts that ultimately failed amid U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry.
Rivera is perhaps best known as a conservative, anti-Castro politician who served one term as a Miami-Dade Republican congressman between 2011 and 2013.
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