Federal prosecutors in Miami have accused Roger Piñate, co-founder of the Florida-based voting technology company Smartmatic, of bribing a top Venezuelan election official to secure a contract.
Piñate is accused of transferring a luxury Caracas residence to Venezuela’s former elections chief, Tibisay Lucena Ramírez, in order to gain political favors. The alleged bribe aimed to secure Ramirez's assistance in a dispute with the Venezuelan government.
Miami prosecutors detailed the bribe in a recent court filing, according to an extensive report by the Miami Herald, intending to use it as evidence against Piñate, who is facing money laundering and bribery charges related to contracts in the Philippines.
Prosecutors allege that they not only have text messages, along with photos and witness accounts, showing that Piñate transferred the home to Ramirez, who is president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, but they also have messages showing an attempt to conceal the transaction, knowing it was a bribe.
Ramirez's role on the Council meant they had authority over the country’s controversial voting system, the Herald writes.
DIVE DEEPER: Remember Smartmatic? Its President Was Just Indicted by the DOJ
Last year, Piñate was indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in a $1 million bribery and money laundering scheme to secure voting machine contracts for the 2016 Philippine elections.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment alleges that Piñate and two other defendants paid bribes to the former chairman of the Philippine Commission on Elections, using fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to conceal the illicit payments.
The DOJ in April filed a "notice of authorization to proceed" with the case.
Piñate, according to a press release, was charged with several crimes, including conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of international laundering of monetary instruments.
The legal issues leave Smartmatic struggling to defend its reputation in the field of electronic voting systems.
"Though it has consistently defended the integrity of its technology and denied involvement in government manipulation," the Herald reports, "the firm now finds itself implicated in allegations that its senior leadership engaged in bribery as a routine business practice."
The company is perhaps best known for filing a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in February 2021, alleging the network knowingly broadcast false claims that Smartmatic rigged the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The case is ongoing, with a New York appeals court ruling in January 2025 that it can proceed to trial. Fox News argues the claims were newsworthy and protected by the First Amendment.
Piñate and the defendants in the Philippine election case pleaded not guilty, and Smartmatic denied any criminal wrongdoing. The company contends that the new bribery allegations brought by the government are “filled with misrepresentations.”
RedState will keep you updated on this case as events warrant.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!