Nadine Menendez Sentenced To 54 Months In Prison For Bribery, Foreign Agent, And Obstruction Offenses

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today that NADINE MENENDEZ was sentenced to 54 months in prison for bribery, foreign agent, and obstruction of justice offenses. NADINE MENENDEZ was sentenced for her critical role in a corruption and foreign influence scheme involving her husband, convicted former Senator Robert Menendez, and others. NADINE MENENDEZ was convicted on April 21, 2025, following a five-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein, who imposed today's sentence.

"The defendant and her partner in crime, former Senator Robert Menendez, engaged in the most brazen form of public corruption-gold bars, cash, and a luxury car in exchange for a Senator's power," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. "Today's sentence sends an important message: our elected officials are not for sale."

According to the Superseding Indictment, the evidence at trial, and public filings:

Robert Menendez, at all relevant times, was the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey and held a leadership position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (the "SFRC"), first as the Ranking Member and then the Chairman. Shortly after Robert Menendez began dating his now-wife NADINE MENENDEZ, then known as Nadine Arslanian, in early 2018, NADINE MENENDEZ introduced Robert Menendez to her long-time friend Wael Hana, a New Jersey businessman who was originally from Egypt and maintained close connections with Egyptian officials. Hana was also a business associate of Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer and long-time donor to Robert Menendez, and Jose Uribe, who worked in the New Jersey insurance and trucking business.

Between 2018 and 2022, when they learned of the federal investigation, Robert Menendez and NADINE MENENDEZ agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of bribes from Hana, Daibes, and Uribe. These bribes included gold, cash, a luxury convertible, payments toward NADINE MENENDEZ's home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job for NADINE MENENDEZ, home furnishings, and other things of value. In June 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") executed a court-authorized search warrant at the New Jersey home of Robert Menendez and NADINE MENENDEZ. During that search, the FBI found many of the fruits of this bribery scheme. Over $480,000 in cash-much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe-was discovered in the home. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints of Robert Menendez or Daibes. Law enforcement agents also found home furnishings provided by Hana and Daibes, the luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, and over $100,000 worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by either Hana or Daibes.

In exchange for these and other things of value, NADINE MENENDEZ and Robert Menendez agreed and promised that Robert Menendez would use his power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect Hana's, Uribe's, and Daibes's interests and to benefit a foreign country. Through this corrupt relationship, NADINE MENENDEZ and Robert Menendez promised and agreed that Robert Menendez would take a series of official acts. First, Robert Menendez took actions to benefit the Government of Egypt and Hana, including by seeking to pressure an official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in an attempt to protect a business monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt, and by secretly representing the interests of Egypt by, among other things, ghostwriting a letter for Egypt to be provided to his own Senate colleagues and providing non-public information and assistance to Egypt. Second, Robert Menendez took actions seeking to disrupt a criminal investigation undertaken by the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General related to Uribe and his associates. Third, Robert Menendez recommended that then-President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., nominate a U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey whom Robert Menendez believed he could influence to disrupt a federal criminal prosecution undertaken by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey of Daibes. Finally, NADINE MENENDEZ conspired and endeavored to obstruct justice in connection with the federal investigation into this scheme.

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In addition to her prison term, NADINE MENENDEZ, 58, of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $922,188.10.[1]

Robert Menendez, Hana, and Daibes were convicted on July 16, 2024, following a nine-week jury trial. Robert Menendez, Hana, and Daibes were sentenced principally to 11 years, more than eight years, and seven years in prison, respectively, for bribery, foreign agent, and obstruction of justice offenses.

Uribe previously pleaded guilty pursuant to a cooperation agreement to conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, and wire fraud. Sentencing for Uribe is scheduled for October 9, 2025.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. Mr. Clayton also thanked the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation for its invaluable assistance on the investigation and the Department of Justice's National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section for its support of the case.

This case is being handled by the Office's Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli J. Mark, Paul M. Monteleoni, Lara Pomerantz, Daniel C. Richenthal, and Catherine Ghosh, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Clark, are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Shirel Garzon and former Paralegal Specialist Arjun Ahuja.