A federal appeals court reinstated the convictions of Hernan Lopez, former CEO of Fox International Channels, and Full Play Group SA for wire fraud and money laundering related to soccer tournaments. U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen previously granted acquittal based on a Supreme Court decision, but the appeals court reversed this ruling, stating the bribery schemes fell within the honest services fraud statute. The court emphasized that the location of certain conduct in the U.S. remained relevant despite the foreign identities of involved parties.
"The nature of defendants' conduct (bribery), coupled with the character of the relationship between the bribed officials and the organizations to whom they owed a duty of loyalty (employer-employee relationships), place the schemes presumptively within the scope of the statute."
"The foreign identity of certain organizations and officials does not remove the schemes from the ambit of [the statute], especially where, as here, relevant conduct occurred in the United States."
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