Reported by ERIK UEBELACKER

Federal prosecutors for the Department of Justice asked the Second Circuit on Wednesday to reinstate the convictions of a former Fox media executive and an Argentine-based sports marketing group, who were found guilty at trial in 2023 of a sprawling bribery scheme involving international soccer.

Hernan Lopez, the former CEO of Fox International Channels, alongside the company Full Play Group S.A., were convicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn for counts of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies for bribing some of the biggest groups in the sport — including FIFA — for broadcasting rights to tournaments including the World Cup qualifiers and Copa América. 

Prosecutors said the broadcast executives paid millions of dollars annually in bribes and kickbacks to the top soccer officials, which not only granted them the broadcasting rights they sought, but also insider information on bidding for other tournaments like the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. 

But six months after the verdict, Barack Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen overturned their convictions, citing fresh precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court that raised the bar for bribery prosecutions.

Read full report: https://www.courthousenews.com/second-circuit-judge-appears-befuddled-by-overturned-convictions-in-brooklyn-fifa-bribery-case/