In Marietta, Georgia, On Wednesday, the charges against three men in an alleged foreign scheme for bribery and money laundering were made public. Three men—Carl Alan Zaglin, 68, from Georgia; Francisco Roberto Cosenza Centeno, 65, who used to work for the Honduran government; and Aldo Nestor Marchena, 50, who used to live in Boca Raton, Florida—are accused of taking part in a plot to pay Honduran government officials. The goal of these bribes was to get contracts to give the Honduran National Police outfits and other goods.
Key Points
- Zaglin is the owner of a company in Georgia that makes police uniforms. In the past, Cosenza Centeno was the Executive Director of the Honduran TASA, which bought things for the Honduran National Police. An “agent of domestic concern,” Luis Berkman, is connected to Aldo Nestor Marchena.
- Deals worth more than $10 million with TASA were part of the plan, which ran from March 2015 to November 2019.
- It is said that the suspects paid Honduran officials, including Cosenza, money to get these contracts and make sure they would be paid.
- It is said that the money from the Honduran government contracts was used to pay more bribes.
- According to the charge, the money was cleaned up by using bank accounts and businesses in the U.S. and Belize.
- As part of the scheme, more than $166,000 was sent to accounts owned by Cosenza and another Honduran official.
- They are being charged with plotting to launder money, laundering money, dealing with property obtained illegally, and breaking the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
- The defendants could get up to 20 years in jail for each money laundering offense, 10 years for dealing with property obtained illegally, and 5 years for each FCPA-related offense if they are found guilty.