The DOJ Just Dropped a MAJOR BOMBSHELL — Federal prosecutors in Miami indicted Smartmatic and its parent company, SGO Corporation Ltd., on charges of CONSPIRING TO BRIBE FOREIGN OFFICIALS AND MONEY LAUNDERING
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
• According to court filings, company executives allegedly funneled about $1 million in bribes to a top election official there. In return, Smartmatic snagged contracts worth a whopping $199 million to provide voting tech.
• The charges invoke the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the U.S. law cracking down on overseas bribery by American-linked firms. It's a rare move—companies don't usually get indicted outright; they often settle quietly to dodge trials.
• Smartmatic (the main player) and SGO Corporation Ltd. (its Bermuda-based parent) targets three key guys:
- Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez (Venezuelan): Accused of bribery and money laundering.
- Jorge Miguel Vasquez (U.S. citizen): Same charges.
- Elie Moreno (Venezuelan): Hit with money laundering and conspiracy counts.
- there is also an unnamed official who is the alleged bagman on the receiving end.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/smartma ... s-eeb1fa2c
Federal prosecutors in Miami indicted Smartmatic and its parent company, SGO Corporation Ltd
Re: Federal prosecutors in Miami indicted Smartmatic and its parent company, SGO Corporation Ltd
Federal prosecutors have charged voting technology firm Smartmatic with money laundering and other crimes arising from more than $1 million in bribes that several executives allegedly paid to election officials in the Philippines.
The payments, between 2015 and 2018, were made to obtain a contract with the Philippines government to help run that country’s 2016 presidential election and secure the timely payment for its work, according to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in a Florida federal court.
Three former executives of Smartmatic, including co-founder Roger Pinate, were previously charged in 2024 but at the time South Florida-based Smartmatic was not named as a defendant. Pinate, who no longer works for Smartmatic but remains a shareholder, has pleaded not guilty.
The criminal case is unfolding as Smartmatic is pursuing a $2.7 billion lawsuit accusing Fox News of defamation for airing false claims that the company helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election in which Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.
Smartmatic in a statement denied the allegations and said it believed the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami had been misled and politically influenced by unnamed powerful interests.
The payments, between 2015 and 2018, were made to obtain a contract with the Philippines government to help run that country’s 2016 presidential election and secure the timely payment for its work, according to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in a Florida federal court.
Three former executives of Smartmatic, including co-founder Roger Pinate, were previously charged in 2024 but at the time South Florida-based Smartmatic was not named as a defendant. Pinate, who no longer works for Smartmatic but remains a shareholder, has pleaded not guilty.
The criminal case is unfolding as Smartmatic is pursuing a $2.7 billion lawsuit accusing Fox News of defamation for airing false claims that the company helped rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election in which Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.
Smartmatic in a statement denied the allegations and said it believed the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami had been misled and politically influenced by unnamed powerful interests.
Re: Federal prosecutors in Miami indicted Smartmatic and its parent company, SGO Corporation Ltd
NEW Superseding indictment in 2016 Philippine election money laundering case adds voting machine company SMARTMATIC as a defendant.
Venezuelan co-founder and exec of Smartmatic, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, was already a defendant in the case. Other execs and agents are also charged.
This is a case I have been tracking for years.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1978 ... 25242.html
Venezuelan co-founder and exec of Smartmatic, Roger Alejandro Pinate Martinez, was already a defendant in the case. Other execs and agents are also charged.
This is a case I have been tracking for years.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1978 ... 25242.html