Former Oil Trader Sentenced to Four Years for Bribing Ecuadorian and Mexican Officials
Javier Aguilar ordered to forfeit $7.13 million and pay $100,000 fine in international corruption case tied to Vitol Inc.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A Mexican national and former oil trader was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court to four years in prison for his role in two separate schemes to bribe foreign government officials in Ecuador and Mexico, the Justice Department announced.
Javier Aguilar, 52, of Houston, Texas, was also ordered to pay $7.13 million in forfeiture and a $100,000 fine.
“This sentence makes clear that corrupt actors, like Javier Aguilar, who facilitated and led two major international bribery and money laundering schemes will be brought to justice and punished accordingly,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will root out those who brazenly undermine the rule of law and use our financial system to launder their corrupt funds, and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Aguilar paid more than $1 million in bribes to officials of Ecuador’s state-owned oil company Petroecuador and of PEMEX Procurement International, a subsidiary of Mexico’s state-owned oil company PEMEX, to obtain and retain business for his then-employer, Vitol Inc.
Trial evidence showed that between 2015 and 2020, Aguilar was a trader at Vitol, the U.S. affiliate of one of the largest energy trading companies in the world. As part of the scheme, Aguilar and his co-conspirators agreed to bribe senior Ecuadorian officials to obtain a $300 million contract to purchase fuel oil for Vitol. They used another Middle Eastern state-owned entity to circumvent Petroecuador’s restrictions on contracts with private companies. In return for the promise and payments of bribes, the Ecuadorian officials ensured that the Middle Eastern state-owned entity and Vitol were awarded the contract.
To conceal the scheme, Aguilar and his co-conspirators used a series of fake contracts, sham invoices, and shell entities incorporated in Curaçao, Panama, and the Cayman Islands. Aguilar also used alias email accounts to communicate with his co-conspirators.
The evidence at trial also demonstrated that Aguilar used the same system of shell entities and sham invoices to launder bribe payments to two officials at PPI. In total, Aguilar paid approximately $600,000 in bribes to PPI officials to obtain contracts for Vitol to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of ethane gas to PEMEX.
The jury convicted Aguilar of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and violating the FCPA in connection with the Ecuador bribery scheme, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the Ecuador and Mexico bribery schemes. He separately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to violate the Travel Act in connection with the Mexico bribery scheme.
“This sentence sends a powerful message of deterrence to those who might be tempted to engage in similar bribery schemes,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “This sentencing is further demonstration of our office’s long-standing commitment to rooting out corruption in the commodities markets. We will be indefatigable in protecting American interests from corruption that unfairly tilts the playing field and threatens American businesses.”
FBI Criminal Division Assistant Director Heith Janke said Aguilar bribed, falsified, and manipulated the system while using U.S. financial institutions to carry out his criminal actions.
“This case demonstrates the broad reach of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the FBI’s ability to investigate and bring criminals to justice who seek to engage in this type of crime,” Janke said.
Seven of Aguilar’s co-conspirators, including three foreign government officials, have pleaded guilty for their roles in the schemes. Those individuals have collectively agreed to forfeit more than $63 million in proceeds from the schemes.
In December 2020, Vitol admitted to bribing officials in Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil in violation of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Vitol entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. As part of the resolution, Vitol agreed to pay a combined $135 million in penalties as part of a coordinated resolution with the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and authorities in Brazil.
Former Federal Employee Pleads Guilty to $194 Million Fraud Scheme Involving 298 Gold Bars and Luxury Florida Properties
David J. Rush, who held a Top Secret security clearance, fabricated a fake Special Access Program to funnel government funds for personal enrichment, prosecutors say
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former senior federal employee pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. government of approximately $194 million through a scheme that involved fabricating government authorities and using the proceeds to acquire gold bars, luxury real estate, and high-end watches, the Justice Department announced.
David J. Rush, 49, of Ashburn, Virginia, entered the plea in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia. According to court documents, Rush was employed in a senior executive-level position with a federal agency and held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance. He reached that position, in part, by lying about his education and military experience, prosecutors said.
Rush used his position of extraordinary public trust to create fictitious government authorities — including a fabricated Special Access Program — to obtain U.S. government funds for his personal benefit, according to court documents. Once he received the funds, Rush acquired gold bars and directed approximately $145 million in wire transfers that he ultimately used to purchase luxury real estate, watches, and at least one car. As a result of his scheme, Rush fraudulently obtained approximately $193,590,400 in U.S. government funds.
On May 19, 2026, the FBI searched Rush’s residence and recovered 298 gold bars, approximately $2,106,550 in cash, €104,795, and numerous luxury watches. Rush had obtained the gold bars at an approximate cost to the government of $46 million.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Rush has agreed to forfeit the gold bars and currency found at his home, the fraudulently obtained properties, 30 watches — many of which were Rolexes — and two 2026 BMW Alpina vehicles, at least one of which is valued at approximately $172,000.
“Federal employees are entrusted with serving the American people, not themselves,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “The Trump Administration is committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, including by prosecuting those who foolishly defraud American taxpayers.”
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency immediately referred the matter to the FBI following an internal investigation that identified potential crimes.
“David Rush abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions,” Ratcliffe said. “We appreciate our law enforcement partners in the FBI and Department of Justice for securing this outcome. The Agency is committed to ensuring that those entrusted with our Nation’s secrets are held to the absolute highest standard.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Rush defrauded the government of hundreds of millions of dollars and misused those funds for extravagant purchases.
“Rush betrayed his oath, his co-workers, and the American people and he will now face justice for his actions,” Patel said. “This plea demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to protecting the public’s trust; and that no government position, security clearance, or access to government resources places anyone above the law.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Rush repeatedly betrayed the trust of the American people.
“He defrauded the United States out of approximately $194 million in real estate, jewelry, and other valuable property, including 298 gold bars,” Eisenberg said. “Worse, his self-serving actions threatened to erode public confidence in the intelligence services that must strive in secret to keep America safe.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia said Rush robbed the country of both its treasury and its faith.
“The United States entrusted David Rush with the resources to protect our nation and its people, and for sheer avarice he chose to betray that trust for personal enrichment,” Stamos said.
Rush is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 28, 2027. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, forfeiture, restitution, and a fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Former Bank CEO Sentenced to 9+ Years for $24.9M Fraud and Venezuela Sanctions Evasion
Tomás Niembro Concha, former head of Nodus International Bank, ordered to forfeit over $16.9 million after leading scheme that contributed to bank’s 2023 failure
MIAMI — The former chief executive officer of a Puerto Rican international bank was sentenced to 112 months in prison and three years of supervised release for leading a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least $24.9 million from the bank and conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, the Justice Department announced.
Tomás Niembro Concha, 64, a Spanish and Venezuelan national, was also ordered to forfeit over $16.9 million, representing the value of proceeds he derived from the wire fraud conspiracy. He pleaded guilty on March 19 to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
According to court filings, Niembro conspired with others to siphon money from Nodus International Bank, ultimately leading to the bank’s failure in 2023. Niembro and his co-conspirators concealed from other Nodus Bank board members, executives, and the bank’s regulator, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico, that certain investments and loans were for the benefit of Niembro and Board Chairman Juan Ramirez, in violation of Puerto Rican law.
From 2017 to 2023, Niembro, Ramirez, and others caused Nodus Bank to invest $11 million in a Miami-based lender so those funds could be loaned to Niembro and Ramirez for their own benefit. Niembro and his co-conspirators knew these transactions were illegal and concealed their conduct through sham investments.
Between January 2018 and September 2021, Niembro and Ramirez also fraudulently induced Nodus Bank’s board and comptroller to agree to buy at least 47 promissory notes totaling approximately $25.3 million from Nodus Finance, a Miami-based company they jointly owned, so they could use the proceeds for themselves. In early March 2023, OCIF notified the bank it would be placed into liquidation. Niembro and Ramirez then fraudulently caused Nodus Bank to accept a loan portfolio from Nodus Finance to pay down the debt from the 47 promissory notes.
Between 2021 and 2023, Niembro conspired with others to conduct prohibited financial transactions with an individual designated as a Specially Designated National by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for providing material support to Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.
To satisfy an outstanding loan of approximately $2.5 million that the SDN’s company had with Nodus Bank prior to the imposition of sanctions, Niembro and the SDN devised a scheme to cause Nodus Bank to foreclose on the SDN’s home in Southampton, New York — for which they obtained OFAC authorization — but separately reached a “private” agreement to induce Nodus Bank to sell the property back to the SDN for $4 million through a front company. That transaction was strictly prohibited by U.S. sanctions and not otherwise licensed by OFAC.
“The defendant abused his position with Nodus Bank to commit fraud for his own enrichment and to willfully evade sanctions on a designated individual,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “When individuals who are supposed to serve as gatekeepers to our financial system choose to abuse that trust and instead use their access to facilitate crimes, the Criminal Division will hold them accountable. Our national security and the integrity of our financial system demand nothing less.”
IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller of the Florida Field Office said the scheme extended beyond fraud.
“The defendant’s scheme didn’t stop at fraud; it extended into conspiring to evade U.S. sanctions designed to protect our national security,” Miller said. “This case demonstrates how collaboration between the IRS-CI, the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico ensures that complex financial crimes and sanctions-evasion schemes are uncovered and prosecuted.”
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