Former Venezuelan Treasurer Will get US Sentence of 15 Years on Cash Laundering

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former Venezuelan treasurer, who additionally served as an aide to late President Hugo Chavez and was convicted within the U.S. of cash laundering, was sentenced to fifteen years in jail, the U.S. Justice Division mentioned on Wednesday.

Claudia Diaz, a former Navy sergeant who served as Venezuela’s nationwide treasurer from 2011 to 2013 and was Chavez’ nurse when he was being handled for most cancers, was extradited from Spain to the USA in Could 2022.

A Florida jury in December convicted Diaz, in addition to her husband Adrian Velasquez, on two counts of cash laundering and one depend of conspiracy to commit cash laundering in affiliation with a corruption scheme in Venezuela.

U.S. District Court docket Choose William Dimitroulea in Florida sentenced Diaz and her husband, who additionally obtained to fifteen years, on Wednesday, the Justice Division mentioned.

U.S. prosecutors in an indictment initially filed in 2020 mentioned Diaz obtained at the least $65 million in bribes between 2011 and 2013 in alternate for serving to Raul Gorrin, additionally a Venezuelan nationwide, receive {dollars} at a positive alternate price.

Diaz, Velasquez and Gorrin bought and paid bills associated to non-public jets, yachts, mansions, champion horses and a designer trend line in South Florida, prosecutors mentioned.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Enhancing by Cynthia Osterman)

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