After nearly a decade of legal whiplash, a Brooklyn federal judge has tossed the criminal case against former Fox International Channels executive Hernan Lopez and Argentine sports marketing firm Full Play Group SA, ending the U.S. prosecution over alleged bribes for international soccer broadcast rights. The move wipes away the most serious criminal exposure Lopez has faced during the long‑running FIFA investigation, which has wound through juries, appellate panels and even the Supreme Court’s doorstep.
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen that the Justice Department would no longer devote resources to pursuing Lopez and Full Play and asked her to dismiss the indictment under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a). In a March 12 letter, the government described the decision as a discretionary, resource‑driven call made “in the interests of justice” and argued that the court’s role is sharply limited when prosecutors seek dismissal after a conviction. That explanation appears in a filing from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York.
How The Case Unraveled
The criminal probe, launched in 2015, led to jury convictions in March 2023 that found Lopez and Full Play had engaged in a scheme involving tens of millions of dollars in bribes to secure television rights for tournaments including the Copa Libertadores and World Cup qualifiers. Judge Chen later granted a post‑trial acquittal in 2023, only for a federal appeals court to reverse her and reinstate the convictions in July 2025, setting off a fresh round of appeals and legal maneuvering over the fate of the case. The back‑and‑forth also spotlighted a key legal fight over whether U.S. fraud statutes reach alleged foreign commercial bribery, as reported by Reuters.
On Wednesday, Chen granted the government’s request and signed the dismissal in Brooklyn. Lopez exited the courthouse smiling and told reporters that “a case that never should have started is finally over,” according to The Associated Press. Chen made a point of saying she was not relying “in any way” on her earlier decision that had briefly acquitted Lopez and Full Play after trial.
Legal Ripples Beyond Brooklyn
In its March filing, the Justice Department urged Chen to respect the broad charging and dismissal discretion traditionally afforded to the Executive Branch, stressing that judicial pushback is appropriate only in “extraordinary” circumstances, such as when prosecutors act without proper departmental approval. The letter also argued that dismissing the indictment against Lopez and Full Play should not disturb other defendants’ final convictions or previously ordered restitution and forfeiture, because those outcomes stem from separate, earlier final judgments. That analysis is laid out in the government’s March 12 submission to the court (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York).
Why Prosecutors Stepped Back
The dismissal caps what Bloomberg Law described as a months‑long tug‑of‑war inside the Justice Department over whether to keep pressing the case. At one point, Chen ordered prosecutors to spell out the “impact, if any” of a potential dismissal on other convictions and on restitution owed to victims. According to Bloomberg Law, the solicitor general’s office and senior department officials ultimately signaled an end to efforts to preserve the Lopez and Full Play convictions, which in turn prompted the Eastern District to seek a written explanation that could be filed with the court.
For Lopez and Full Play, the dismissal closes the door on federal criminal exposure in this matter, even as the saga’s trail of jury verdicts, trial‑court reversals and appellate rulings remains firmly embedded in the public record. Restitution that has already been ordered in connection with other defendants stays in place, and the broader questions the case raised about how far U.S. authorities should go in policing cross‑border corruption are likely to keep lawyers, prosecutors and academics busy for years to come.
