Guatemalan Judge Set to Be First Person Sentenced as Part of FIFA Corruption Scandal

Guatemalan judge Hector Trujillo is expected to be the first person sentenced in the United States over the world football bribery scandal. 

The 63-year-old, who once served as General Secretary for the Guatemalan football federation, is set to receive his sentence today in a federal courtroom in New York, Fox News reports. 

The former official has confessed to accepting close to $200,000 in bribes in the scandal that involved companies trying to fraudulently secure sports marketing contracts. The prosecution have stated that they want a sentence of at least three years in prison for Trujillo, as well as forcing the Guatemalan to pay $415,000 in restitution. 

However the defence insists that Trujillo should deserve no time behind bars for any of his wrongdoings between 2009 and 2016. On top of this, the defence also asked that the judge ordering the sentence be lenient towards the former official, because this case put an end to his "successful and prominent career and tarnished his spotless reputation as a respected jurist and advocate."

Under what is known as a Plea Agreement, Trujillo will not object to any sentence given that is less than four years and nine months, on top of an agreed forfeit $175,000. 

While currently on $4m bail in the American city of Miami, Florida, Trujillo's defence has stated that the Guatemalan's health has "debilitated" since his arrest by the US Authorities. 

Prosecutors said: "While the defendant may not have played the largest role or pocketed the most money of all of the defendants in the case, his conduct nevertheless shows that he engaged in the same type of conduct as the rest of the corrupt soccer officials who have been charged. And that corrupt conduct requires a significant sentence."