Venezuelan National Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charges

A Venezuelan agent, Carlos Kauffman, who along with four other foreign nationals is accused of acting and conspiring to act as an agent of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (''Venezuela'') has plead guilty before a U.S. District Court Judge in Miami.^[1] Kaufmann plead guilty to charges that he conspired to act as a Venezuelan agent without first notifying the Attorney General of the United States. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 12, 2008, at 2:00 PM before U.S. District Court Judge Lenard.^[2]

Kauffman is the second defendant to plead guilty in this case. On Jan. 25, 2008, Moises Maionica, 36, pleaded guilty to acting and conspiring to act as an illegal agent of the Venezuelan government.^[3] The case against co-defendants Antonio Jose Canchica Gomez, Rodolfo Wanseele Paciello, and Franklin Duran is still pending. Their trial is currently scheduled for June 23, 2008.^[4]

Alexander Acosta, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, applauded the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its work in this investigation.^[5] The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas J. Mulvihill and Senior Trial Attorney Clifford I. Rones, of the Counterespionage Section at the Justice Department's National Security Division.^[6]

A conspiracy is "an agreement by two or more persons to commit an unlawful act, coupled with an intent to achieve the agreement's objective, and [often] action or conduct that furthers the agreement; a combination for an unlawful purpose."^[7] The United States Code criminalizes conspiracy by stating that:

“It is a violation of title 18, section 371 for "two or more persons" to conspire
to commit any offense against the United States, or
to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, if one or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of the conspiracy.”^[8]

The maximum punishment for a conspiracy charge under § 371 is a fine, or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.^[9] If the offense upon which the conspiracy is based upon is a misdemeanor, the punishment cannot exceed the maximum penalty for the underlying misdemeanor offense.^[10]

Federal criminal defense attorney Douglas McNabb has previously written about the crime of conspiracy, here.

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[1] Bloomberg News, Businessman Pleads Guilty to Aiding Chavez, The New York Sun, March 4th, 2008 (available at www.nysun.com/article/72284).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Black’s Law Dictionary 329 (8th ed. 2005).
[8] 18 U.S.C. § 371 (2008).
[9] Id.
[10] Id.