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South American football executives Jose Maria Marin, from Brazil, and Juan Napout, from Paraguay, have been found guilty of corruption by a New York federal court and now face up to 20 years in prison.
Marin, former head of Brazil's Football Confederation, and Napout, former president of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), were arrested in 2015 as part of the high-profile "FIFAgate" investigations.
The U.S. investigations were first revealed in May 2015 and are now the largest corruption scandal in football's history, involving 42 football executives who allegedly received bribes to award media and marketing rights for major tournaments.
According to New York prosecutors, the overall bribes paid out are estimated to total about US$200 million.
More than 20 people implicated in the scandal have already pleaded guilty and some are now serving sentences. Marin and Napout pleaded not guilty, but were extradited from Geneva on November and December 2015, respectively.
After six days of deliberations, Napout was found guilty of conspiracy and two counts of financial fraud, while Marin was found guilty of organized crime, financial fraud and money laundering.
Pamela Chen, the judge in charge of the two cases, sent Napout and Marin directly to a federal prison having ruled them a flight risk. They face up to 20 years behind bars, with sentencing due in the next couple of weeks.
A third accused, former President of Peru's Football Federation Manuel Burga, is still waiting on a verdict after the judge ordered the jury to resume deliberations next Tuesday.
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