Football
Reuters 6y

South American football chief Napout gets nine years, $4.3 million fine

A former head of the governing body for football in South America was sentenced to nine years in prison by a U.S. judge on Wednesday for crimes stemming from the bribery scandal that engulfed the sport three years ago, a spokesman for prosecutors said.

Juan Angel Napout, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, New York, who also ordered him to pay more than $4.3 million in financial penalties, according to John Marzulli, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Juan Angel Napout, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, New York, who also ordered him to pay more than $4.3 million in financial penalties, according to a statement from the office of U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.

"Napout's conviction, as well as the successful prosecution of other high-level soccer officials, has struck at the core of corruption in soccer and underscores the need for continued vigilance against fraud and bribery in the sport," Donoghue said in a statement.

"Of course we are disappointed with the nine-year sentence and plan to appeal both the verdict and sentence," Napout's lawyer Silvia Pinera-Vazquez said in an email.

Napout's lawyer, Silvia Pinera-Vazquez, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Napout had served as the head of the national football federation in his native Paraguay and, later, of South America's football governing body CONMEBOL. He was found guilty by a jury last December of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy.

Napout was tried alongside Jose Maria Marin, a former head of Brazil's football federation, who was also convicted last week and sentenced to four years in prison.

A third defendant at the trial, former Peruvian football official Manuel Burga, was cleared of all charges.

The three men are the only defendants so far to go to trial out of more than 40 people and entities charged by U.S. prosecutors in connection with the corruption scandal surrounding FIFA since 2015.

Prosecutors have described a sprawling scheme involving payments of more than $200 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for marketing and broadcast rights for football matches.

The prosecutors said that Marin and Napout each personally took millions of dollars in bribes. 

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