{"id":982,"date":"2026-05-29T18:39:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982"},"modified":"2026-05-29T18:39:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T18:39:27","slug":"court-formally-clears-hernan-lopez-former-fox-tv-exec-and-wondery-founder-of-bribery-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982","title":{"rendered":"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tMore than six years after Hernan Lopez was indicted by federal prosecutors for allegedly participating in a scheme to bribe FIFA soccer officials, a court has dismissed the case.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=980\">Original \u2018Baywatch\u2019 Stars Michael Bergin\u00a0and\u00a0Kelly Packard\u00a0Join Reboot at Fox<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tLopez, former head of Fox International Channels, was convicted in the case in 2023 along with sports marketing firm Full Play Group. In September of that year, Judge Pamela Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted Lopez\u2019s motion for acquittal and also overturned the conviction of Full Play. Last summer, a federal appeals court overturned Chen\u2019s decision and reinstated the convictions \u2014 before the Justice Department in December 2025 filed a motion to dismiss the case \u201cin the interests of justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tLopez had long maintained his innocence in the matter. On May 27, Chen formally granted the DOJ\u2019s motion to dismiss the indictments against Lopez and Full Play Group with prejudice (meaning the charges against them cannot be brought again), according to court documents.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=978\">\u2018CSI\u2019\u00a0Creator Anthony Zuiker Developing Cinemalistics,\u00a0an AI-Generated True-Crime App (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tIn April 2020,\u00a0federal prosecutors had indicted Lopez\u00a0along with another former 21st\u00a0Century Fox executive, Carlos Martinez, alleging they were part of a conspiracy to pay millions of dollars annually to FIFA officials in South America between 2000-2015 in exchange for broadcasting rights to the Copa Libertadores club tournament as well as confidential bidding information for U.S. broadcast rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments. (A Brooklyn jury acquitted Martinez of the charges in 2023.)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tAfter Lopez left Fox, in 2016 he founded podcast studio and network Wondery, which he sold to Amazon in a deal that closed in early 2021. Currently, Lopez is the founder of consulting and research firm Owl &amp; Co., which he started in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=976\">Shalom Brune-Franklin and Jimmy O. Yang Join Oscar Isaac in Netflix Vegas Drama \u2018The Roman\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal court dismissed the bribery indictment against Hernan Lopez, former head of Fox International Channels and founder of Wondery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1012],"class_list":["post-982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biz","tag-hernan-lopez"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A federal court dismissed the bribery indictment against Hernan Lopez, former head of Fox International Channels and founder of Wondery.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T18:39:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T18:39:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982\"},\"wordCount\":335,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Hernan Lopez\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Biz\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982\",\"name\":\"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T18:39:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=982#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge - Relocation Observer","og_description":"A federal court dismissed the bribery indictment against Hernan Lopez, former head of Fox International Channels and founder of Wondery.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-05-29T18:39:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge","datePublished":"2026-05-29T18:39:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982"},"wordCount":335,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp","keywords":["Hernan Lopez"],"articleSection":["Biz"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982","name":"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-29T18:39:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7211a32947587848b7f367486b23bc9d.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=982#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Court Formally Clears Hernan Lopez, Former Fox TV Exec and Wondery Founder, of Bribery Charge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}