David Rivera

David Rivera, a former U.S. Congressman (2011–2013), has faced several major legal and political controversies: Campaign Finance Fraud For years, Rivera faced a civil complaint from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for allegedly funneling $75,927 in illegal straw man contributions to a 2012 Democratic primary candidate to sabotage his own rival, Joe Garcia. Although a district judge ruled in 2022 that Rivera’s conduct was egregious, an appeals court reversed the judgment due to disputed facts. The FEC officially dismissed the case in January 2025. Foreign Lobbying and Fraud In May 2026, a federal jury in Miami convicted Rivera of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), violating FARA, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. Prosecutors proved that Rivera accepted a $50 million contract from a U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, to secretly lobby U.S. officials—including then-Senator Marco Rubio—on behalf of the Nicolas Maduro regime. Rivera used approximately $600,000 of the proceeds to fund his own political campaign and personal expenses. He currently faces up to 60 years in prison and remains under indictment in Washington, D.C., for a separate, related scheme involving unregistered lobbying for a Venezuelan businessman.