South Florida businessmen accused of bribing ex-Bolivian officials for tear gas contract

Jay Weaver
·2 min read

Three businessmen associated with a South Florida-based company that makes tear gas have been charged with paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to former Bolivian government officials to secure an inflated defense contract, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Bryan Berkman, 36, CEO of Bravo Tactical Solutions in Tamarac; his father, Luis Berkman, 58; and Philip Lichtenfeld, 48, were arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering involving bribery payments totaling $602,000 to three former Bolivian officials, according to criminal complaints filed in federal court.

Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 57, the former Bolivian minister of government; Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, 51, the minister’s former chief of staff; and an unnamed former official with the defense ministry received the alleged bribery payments between November 2019 and April 2020, the criminal complaints say. Murillo and Mendez were arrested in Florida in connection with the money-laundering conspiracy, prosecutors said.

Bryan Berkman, his father, Luis Berkman, and Litchtenfeld are accused of paying the kickbacks to obtain a $5.65 million tear-gas defense contract with the conservative government of former interim Bolivian President Jeanine Áñez, prosecutors said.

The Berkmans and Lichtenfeld laundered the payments to the former Bolivian government officials through bank accounts in Florida and Bolivia, according to the Homeland Security Investigations complaints filed by prosecutor Eli Rubin.

If convicted in the foreign corruption case, each of the five defendants faces up to 20 years in prison. Their arraignments are scheduled for June.

Bryan Berkman’s defense attorney, Michael Mirer, declined to comment for this story. No attorney was listed on the court docket for Luis Berkman. Lichtenfeld’s lawyer, Frank Schwartz, could not be reached for comment.

Murillo’s attorney, Julia Kefalinos, could not be reached for comment. No attorney was listed on the docket for Mendez.