The son of a former Ecuadorian government official pleaded guilty in connection to an alleged $16.5 million international bribery scheme that funneled funds into Miami-Dade County condos, an office building and other assets.
John Christopher Polit diverted bribe money that his father, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, had obtained while serving as Ecuador’s comptroller general. Funds flowed into South Florida real estate and businesses, such as restaurants and a dry cleaner, according to federal prosecutors in Miami and court filings.
Polit, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He will be sentenced on Jan. 30 and faces up to 10 years in prison.
His plea comes after his 73-year-old father was found guilty in April by a unanimous jury in connection to a bribery scheme that involved Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht and Ecuadorian state-owned insurance companies. Last month, Polit Faggioni was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Polits’ cases are the latest fallout from the alleged massive Odebrecht fiasco. The company, which provides infrastructure, engineering, construction and other services globally, pleaded guilty in 2016 to paying nearly $800 million to high-ranking government officials in 12 countries, mostly in Latin America, to benefit its projects. Odebrecht and Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem, co-owned by Odebrecht, agreed in 2016 to pay a combined $3.5 million to resolve the charges.
Attorneys for the father and son didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
From 2010 to 2018, Polit Faggioni received about $16 million from Odebrecht in exchange for using his government position to prevent or wipe out Odebrecht’s fines on its projects in Ecuador, according to a factual proffer signed last month by John Polit.
The elder Polit was Ecuador’s comptroller general, a position created to prevent fraudulent use of Ecuadorian public funds, from 2007 to 2017.
In one instance, the son facilitated the funneling in 2014 of some of the $4.1 million his father received from Odebrecht through Panamanian and South Florida bank accounts, the factual proffer says.
In 2015, Polit Faggioni used his position to influence a former chairman of Ecuadorian state-owned insurer Seguros Sucre to award a contract for the benefit of an unidentified co-conspirator, according to the factual proffer. The co-conspirator then transferred $510,000 to a South Florida account controlled by Polit.
Polit diverted some of the Odebrecht bribe funds into the $2.6 million purchase in 2016 of four-story, 13,000-square-foot office building at 1900 Southwest 22nd Street in Miami, the factual proffer says. The property was purchased through a limited liability company managed by an entity that ties to a member of the Polit family, according to records.
In September, Judge Kathleen Williams issued a preliminary order of forfeiture for the building in the Polit Faggioni case.
The U.S. government is pushing to seize $16.5 million in total from the father-son duo, according to court filings. Under his plea agreement, Polit agreed to potentially forfeit six properties as “substitute” assets. Generally, “substitute” properties are used if the government can’t collect the full amount it’s seeking to recoup in cash or other assets.
The “substitute” real estate includes a condo unit at each of Merrick Manor at 301 Altara Avenue in Coral Gables, Brickell City Centre’s Rise in Miami, and The Gates at Doral at 11438 Northwest 62nd Terrace, according to the plea agreement. It also includes a two-story, 8,300-square-foot mixed-use residential building at 1820 Southwest Third Avenue, and a one-story, 5,500-square-foot retail building at 1830 Southwest Third Avenue in Miami.
Records show the properties are owned by LLCs managed by an entity tied to a Polit family member. The Gates at Doral condo is owned by Polit and his wife, according to records.
Prosecutors originally had pushed for the seizure of the Merrick Manor condo in the Polit Faggioni case. A jury in that case determined in April that the unit wasn’t involved in the alleged bribery scheme, according to the jury verdict. It’s unclear whether the remaining “substitute” properties were connected to the alleged scheme.
In court hearings and filings, Polit’s attorneys distanced him from the Odebrecht bribery fiasco, arguing the true criminals were former company executives who cut non-prosecution agreements with the U.S. government for their testimony against Polit, the Miami Herald reported.
Previously, Polit Faggioni’s attorneys argued in court that the $16.5 million figure is “highly inflated,” and described him as a “doting father,” the Herald reported last month.
Last month, Polit Faggioni filed a notice of appeal of his 10-year sentence.