{"id":2321978,"date":"2024-08-09T13:53:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T17:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/founder-and-president-of-smartmatic-indicted-on-federal-charges-relating-to-voting-machine-scheme\/"},"modified":"2024-08-09T13:59:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T17:59:18","slug":"founder-and-president-of-smartmatic-indicted-on-federal-charges-relating-to-voting-machine-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/founder-and-president-of-smartmatic-indicted-on-federal-charges-relating-to-voting-machine-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Founder and President of Smartmatic Indicted on Federal Charges Relating to Voting Machine Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffounder-and-president-of-smartmatic-indicted-on-federal-charges-relating-to-voting-machine-scheme%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2321978&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Roger Pinate, the Venezuelan-American \u2064co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/update-corrupted-software-that-stole-6000-votes-from-trump-in-michigan-county-shut-down-for-two-hours-in-red-counties-in-georgia-on-election-day\/\" title=\"Update: Corrupted Software that Stole 6,000 Votes From Trump in Michigan County -- Shut Down for TWO HOURS in Red Counties in Georgia on Election Day\">voting machine<\/a> company Smartmatic, has been \u200cindicted by a grand\u200d jury in Florida on charges related\u200b to \u200ban alleged conspiracy involving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theres-going-to-be-evidence-that-comes-forward-in-next-few-days-what-will-drastically-change-the-playing-field-security-expert-behind-antrim-county-audit-says-some\/\" title=\"\u201cThere\u2019s Going to Be Evidence that Comes Forward in Next Few Days what Will Drastically Change the Playing Field\u201d \u2014 Security Expert Behind Antrim County Audit Says Something Big Is Coming (VIDEO)\">election technology<\/a>. Pinate faces one count of conspiracy and three counts of\u2064 international money laundering, alongside co-defendants Jorge Vasquez,\u200d Elie Moreno, and former\u200b Philippines Commission on Elections\u200d Chairman Juan Andres Donato\u2064 Bautista. The U.S. Justice Department alleges that over $1 million in\u200d bribes were paid to Bautista to secure contracts for providing voting machines for the 2016 Philippine elections. The operation involved \u2063overcharging for voting machines\u2064 and laundering the proceeds \u200dthrough various international banks. If convicted, the \u200cdefendants could face \u2063significant prison time, with \u2062investigations spearheaded\u2062 by a Homeland Security task \u200bforce. Smartmatic has stated \u2064that the indicted employees are on leave and emphasized the importance of \u2064election integrity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section>\n<p>The Venezuelan-American founder of voting machine company Smartmatic has been indicted by a grand jury on charges relating to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/okeefe-media-group-uncovers-doj-official-claiming-garland-rolls-over-on-trans-identifying-inmate-men-impregnating-female-prisoners\/\" title=\"O&#039;Keefe Media Group exposes DOJ official accusing Garland of allowing trans-identifying male inmates to impregnate female prisoners.\">alleged scheme involving<\/a> the election technology.<\/p>\n<p>The grand jury&rsquo;s Thursday decision in the Southern District of Florida means executive Roger Pinate, 49, is now charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of international laundering of monetary instruments.<\/p>\n<p>Pinate is a co-founder and president of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/foreign-country-bans-smartmatic-voting-machines-firm-safeguard-integrity-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smartmatic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Alleged co-conspirators 62-year-old Jorge Vasquez, 44-year-old Elie Moreno and the former Philippines&rsquo; Commission on Elections Chairman Juan Andres Donato Bautista each face the same charges.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Pinate and Vasquez face counts of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> \t\t\t\tif( ! getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ) ) if( typeof FFADS.replace_ict !='undefined' ) if( FFADS.replace_ict ) eval( FFADS.replace_ict ); \t\t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>According to the U.S. Justice Department, Pinate, Vasquez and Moreno are alleged to have caused more than $1 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democratic-senator-convicted-16-counts-including-bribery-dems-wish-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bribes<\/a> to be paid to Bautista.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These bribes were allegedly paid to obtain and retain business related to providing voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections and to secure payments on the contracts,&rdquo; the DOJ said in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/four-men-charged-philippine-bribery-and-money-laundering-scheme\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a release<\/a>, &ldquo;including the release of value added tax payments.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ explains the apparent scheme worked by overcharging the Philippine taxpayer for voting machines, and hiding the ill-gotten gains by laundering it through banks worldwide, including at least one in the Southern District of Florida.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The co-conspirators allegedly funded the bribes through a slush fund that was created by over-invoicing the cost per voting machine for the 2016 Philippine elections,&rdquo; the DOJ said.<\/p>\n<p>The government branch added: &ldquo;To conceal and disguise the nature and purpose of the corrupt payments, the co-conspirators used coded language to refer to the slush fund and caused the creation of fraudulent contracts and sham loan agreements to justify transfers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Conspirators allegedly used banks in Asia, Europe and the United States to &ldquo;clean&rdquo; money from the Philippine scheme.<\/p>\n<p>The accused face 20 years in prison for each of the laundering and conspiracy charges, with Pinate and Vasquez face an additional five years for their FCPA counts.<\/p>\n<p>A Homeland Security task force, working alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-former-irs-contractor-sentenced-leaking-trump-taxes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the IRS<\/a>, is spearheading the investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the indictment, Smartmatic released a statement announcing the charged employees are now on leave and rejecting any claim of voter fraud.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Voters worldwide must be assured that the elections they participate in are conducted with the utmost integrity and transparency,&rdquo; the company wrote on X. &ldquo;These are the values that Smartmatic lives by.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Smartmatic has learned that two of our employees have been indicted for alleged violations of the FCPA in the Philippines almost 10 years ago. Regardless of the veracity of the allegations and while our accused employees remain innocent until proven guilty, we have placed both&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZGFVXgh5XX\">pic.twitter.com\/ZGFVXgh5XX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Smartmatic (@smartmatic) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/smartmatic\/status\/1821729389878636942?\">August 9, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>International cooperation is underway between law enforcement and investigative agencies to bring a successful prosecution in this case.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roger Pinate, the Venezuelan-American co-founder of the voting machine company Smartmatic, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges connected to an alleged scheme involving election technology. The grand jury&#8217;s ruling on Thursday in Florida&#8217;s Southern District has resulted in Pinate, 49, facing one count of conspiracy and three counts of international money laundering. Alongside him, alleged co-conspirators Jorge Vasquez (62), Elie Moreno (44), and former Chairman of the Philippines Commission on Elections Juan Andres Donato Bautista are also facing similar charges. Additionally, Pinate and Vasquez are charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Justice Department claims that Pinate, Vasquez, and Moreno orchestrated over $1 million in bribes paid to Bautista to secure business related to voting machines and election services for the 2016 Philippine elections. These bribes were allegedly intended to ensure contract payments as well as value-added tax reimbursements.<\/p>\n<p>According to the DOJ, this scheme involved overcharging Philippine taxpayers for voting machines while laundering the proceeds through banks globally\u2014including at least one located in Florida\u2019s Southern District. The conspirators reportedly funded these bribes using a slush fund created by inflating machine costs for those elections. To obscure their corrupt activities, they used coded language regarding this slush fund and fabricated contracts along with fake loan agreements.<\/p>\n<p>The accused could face up to 20 years in prison for each charge related to money laundering and conspiracy; additionally, Pinate and Vasquez may receive five extra years due to their FCPA violations. A task force from Homeland Security is leading this investigation alongside IRS officials.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the indictment announcement, Smartmatic stated that those charged have been placed on leave while firmly denying any allegations of voter fraud: &#8220;Voters worldwide must be assured that elections are conducted with integrity,&#8221; they emphasized via social media.<\/p>\n<p>International collaboration among law enforcement agencies is ongoing as efforts continue toward a successful prosecution in this case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2321979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/smarmatic.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32644,36411,8673,5428,35097],"class_list":["post-2321978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election-integrity","tag-federal-charges","tag-indictments","tag-smartmatic","tag-voting-machines"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/smarmatic.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2321978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2321979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2321978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2321978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2321978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}