A former senior oil and gas trader was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for his role in a nearly eight-year-long scheme to bribe Brazilian government officials and to launder money to secure business for Arcadia Fuels Ltd. (Arcadia) and Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint), two companies where he worked. He was also fined $300,000.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Glenn Oztemel, 66, of Westport, Connecticut, paid over $1 million in bribes to officials at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company, in exchange for inside Petrobras information — including competitor bids and confidential pricing information from other U.S. companies — that gave Arcadia and Freepoint a competitive advantage in winning lucrative fuel oil contracts from Petrobras.
The evidence at trial showed that Oztemel and his co-conspirators caused Arcadia and Freepoint to make corrupt payments — disguised as purported consulting fees and commissions — to a third-party intermediary and agent, Eduardo Innecco, knowing that Innecco would pay a portion of those funds to Brazilian officials, including a Houston-based Petrobras trader, Rodrigo Berkowitz. To conceal the scheme, Oztemel, Innecco, and their co-conspirators used coded language such as “breakfast” and “freight deviation” to refer to the bribes and communicated via personal email accounts, encrypted messaging applications, disposable phones, and fictitious names such as “Spencer Kazisnaf” and “Nikita Maksimov.”
In September 2024, Oztemel was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of violating the FCPA, and two counts of money laundering.
In a related matter, in December 2023, Freepoint admitted to bribing officials in Brazil, in violation of the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions. Freepoint entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. As a part of the resolution, Freepoint agreed to pay more than $98 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut; and Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s International Corruption Squad investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, along with authorities in Brazil, Latvia, Switzerland, and Uruguay, assisted with the investigation.
Trial Attorneys Allison McGuire and Clayton P. Solomon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McGarry for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA and FEPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.