NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) President Jose Maria Marin was sentenced to four years in prison by a United States federal court for corruption on Wednesday.
Brooklyn district court judge Pamela Chen also ordered the 86-year-old to forfeit 3.34 million U.S. dollars and fined him 1.2 million dollars.
Marin, who has already served 13 months in jail, was found guilty in December 2017 of money laundering, wire fraud and conspirational racketeering.
Wednesday's ruling marks the first time that an official has been sentenced since the US Department of Justice launched its football corruption probe more than three years ago.
Marin was among seven FIFA officials arrested at a hotel in Zurich in May 2015 as part of a joint operation by Swiss police and U.S. authorities.
"Today's sentence shows that for all their power and prestige, the soccer officials who corrupted 'the beautiful game' are not above the law," Richard Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said after the decision.
Marin is expected to appeal against the sentence.
Juan Angel Napout, the former president of South American football confederation CONMEBOL, was found guilty of corruption charges at the same time as Marin and is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 29.
William Sweeney, the assistant director of the FBI's New York field office said: "Today's sentencing of Mr Marin is just one step in a wide-ranging investigation of these corrupt officials.
"The FBI and our law enforcement partners are continuing our pursuit of those who used the game of soccer to pad their bank accounts."
Marin, a former governor of Brazil's Sao Paulo state, was president of the CBF from March 2012 to April 2015.
