Wilson da Costa, who has been detained since last year, heard the verdict of a jury made up of eight women and four men, who found him guilty of three charges - one of wire fraud and two of identity theft - following a trial led by the Judge Kevin Castel.
The trial, which began on November 6, will culminate on February 26, 2025, when the sentence will be read.
In the indictment filed by the federal court in Manhattan, to which Lusa had access, Wilson da Costa was accused of having used false documents to persuade the Government of Angola to terminate contracts with another company relating to an energy and water project worth 1.1 billion dollars, as well as identity theft.
That money went to finance the purchase and installation of 12 gas turbines made by GE, according to prosecutors.
The indictment accused Wilson da Costa of falsifying documents allegedly belonging to government officials in Angola, as part of the scheme, between 2017 and 2019.
Wilson Da Costa's lawyers did not deny that the documents were forged, but argued that their client was not responsible.
With the verdict, the jury rejected the defense's claim that Wilson da Costa was the unwitting victim of fraud perpetrated by AEnergy SA, GE's then engineering, procurement and construction partner in Angola, which, according to trial evidence, he also had a strong desire to move the business forward.
The criminal charges follow long-running litigation between General Electric and an infrastructure company owned by Portuguese businessmen, AEnergy SA, which raised allegations of reckless conduct and a cover-up against the US company.
