Former US Congressman David Rivera has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for working undercover for the Venezuelan government. According to the US Department of Justice, to which CBS News refers, he was involved in a 50 million dollar lobbying campaign during the first term of Donald Trump's presidency. In May, after a seven-week trial, a jury found Rivera, 61, guilty. The court found him guilty of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), conspiracy to violate laws, conspiracy to launder money, and dealing in the proceeds of crime. With 4 episodes to go. According to the investigation, in 2017-2018, Rivera and political consultant Esther Nuffer signed a $50 million contract with a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. They were supposed to advance the interests of Nicolas Maduro's government in the United States, but they did not register that activity as foreign agency work. Rivera and Nufer, in particular, lobbied American politicians and organized meetings between US representatives and high-ranking Venezuelan officials. They tried to establish connections, for example, with then-senator Marco Rubio and congressman Pete Sessions. Rivera was also in contact with Venezuelan businessman Raul Gorin. The current US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated during the trial that he learned about Rivera's deal only later. By the way, they previously worked together in the Florida legislature and lived in the same house in Tallahassee. The defense argued that Rivera acted with good intentions and believed that his job did not require him to register as a foreign agent. According to lawyers, his goal was to remove Maduro and improve US-Venezuela relations. In addition to the prison sentence, the court decided to seize Rivera's real estate in Doral and the Florida Keys. As for Nufer, who was involved in the same case, he was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison.