Miami Federal Case Exposes International Bribery Network Tied to Honduran Officials

MIAMI, Florida (FLAN 35) — A Miami federal court handed down an eight-year prison sentence Tuesday to a Georgia uniform supplier whose bribery scheme relied heavily on South Florida’s banking channels to influence government contracting overseas.

Carl Alan Zaglin, 70, CEO of Atlanco LLC, was convicted of conspiracy, foreign corruption and money-laundering charges after prosecutors detailed how he worked with a former Boca Raton banker to route hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to high-ranking Honduran officials. The payments secured more than $10 million in uniform contracts connected to TASA, the Honduran agency responsible for police equipment.

Judge Jacqueline Becerra also ordered Zaglin to forfeit $2 million tied to the illegal profits.

Court filings show that Miami served as a central point for the operation. Bribe money moved through South Florida accounts, shell companies and encrypted communications, with coded language used to mask the purpose of the transfers. Payments flowed from Atlanco to a front company operated by Aldo Nestor Marchena, a former Wells Fargo asset manager in Boca Raton. Marchena, who pleaded guilty earlier, was sentenced in Miami to seven years.

Two Honduran officials connected to the scheme — former TASA executive director Francisco Roberto Cosenza Centeno and former director Juan Ramon Molina — have also pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges and await sentencing.

The investigation surfaced after Miami prosecutors pursued a separate foreign-corruption case involving Bolivian defense contracts. Evidence from that earlier prosecution helped investigators map out the Honduran bribery network and its use of South Florida financial systems.

Federal authorities say additional international corruption activity tied to Miami’s financial corridor is still under review.