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Brayan Jimenez said he was guilty of racketeering conspiracy
and wire fraud charges at a hearing in federal court in front of
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy. Jimenez also agreed to
forfeit $350,000.
Jimenez is accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in
bribes in exchange for authorizing "friendly" matches played by
the Guatemalan national soccer team and for awarding contracts
for media rights for the team's World Cup qualifier matches to
the sports marketing firm Media World.
The company is a subsidiary of Imagina US, the Miami-based
affiliate of Spanish media giant Imagina group.
"Over a period of years, Media World transmitted these bribes
from its U.S. bank accounts to the defendant and a
co-conspirator, often using intermediaries in the United States
and Guatemala," the U.S. Department of Justice said in its
announcement of the plea.
Lawyers representing Jimenez did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Jimenez, who had been president of the country's soccer
federation since 2010, was arrested in Guatemala in January and
later extradited to the United States. He now faces a maximum
sentence of 20 years for each count.
Jimenez is among 42 individuals and entities charged as part of
a U.S. investigation into schemes involving more than $200
million in bribes and kickbacks sought by soccer officials for
marketing and broadcast rights to tournaments and matches.
Gianni Infantino, FIFA's recently elected president, has vowed
to lead the organization out of years of scandal even as U.S.
and Swiss corruption investigations continue. (Reporting by Mica
Rosenberg and Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Bill
Trott)
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