A woman tried to bribe an official at an ICE detention center to release a migrant, offering gifts of money and tequila to try to spring the person free, federal prosecutors say.
A grand jury in Louisiana indicted Diana Kutateladze on three counts of bribing a public official.
The indictment doesn’t name the official, but the Justice Department said Ms. Kutateladze’s goal was to try to influence him to “disregard federal immigration laws and recommend the release of immigration detainees.”
The man reported the bribes to his supervisors.
Ms. Kutateladze stands accused of offering two bribes in January 2024 and another in May 2024.
She promised a bottle of Patron Silver tequila and $100 the first time, $1,000 the second time and $2,000 the third time, the indictment charges.
No lawyer was listed for Ms. Kutateladze in court records.
Prosecutors didn’t name the facility where the bribery is alleged to have taken place, nor did they say much about the person she wanted freed.
They did say Ms. Kutateladze is from Brooklyn.
Someone with the same name and location has a LinkedIn page that identifies her as working for Kutateli, a firm that represents migrants battling deportation.
The woman is listed as the firm’s president and is listed in Justice Department records as an accredited provider of services for low-income migrants.
The Washington Times has reached out to the company for comment.
The woman was also charged earlier this year in a 23-count state indictment after a drunk-driving crash killed two people in a wrong-way highway collision in March.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.