(CN) - The former president of Honduras and a Guatemalan federal judge were among 16 more people ensnared in the U.S. government's ongoing probe of FIFA officials accused of taking more than $200 million in bribes over two decades.
The government's 92-count superseding indictment was unsealed Thursday in Brooklyn Federal Court, charging the men with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering for an alleged 24-year scheme to enrich themselves "through the corruption of international soccer," according to the U.S. Justice Department.
The Justice Department also announced the guilty pleas of eight others connected to the Fédération Internationale de Futbol Association, soccer's governing body.
The newly-indicted defendants include regional officials for CONCACAF, the U.S.-based FIFA confederation, and officers of CONMEBOL, the confederation headquartered in South America.
Among them are Alfredo Hawit and Juan Angel Napout the respective current presidents of CONCACAF and CONMEBOL, in addition to current FIFA vice presidents and executive committee members.
Hawit, 64, and Napout, 57, were arrested Thursday morning by Swiss authorities as they prepared to attend FIFA meetings in Zurich, and the United States is working to extradite them, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a news conference.
Honduras' former president, Rafael Callejas, 72, and Guatemalan judge Hector Trujillo, 62, have also been pulled into the scandal.
"Taken together, the 27 defendants in the superseding indictment are alleged to have engaged in a number of schemes all designed to solicit and receive well over $200 million in bribes and kickbacks to sell lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments and matches, among other valuable rights and properties," a department press release states.
In total, 41 people and entities have been charged in the alleged scheme, the government says. Twelve have already been convicted, agreeing to forfeit more than $190 million collectively.
In addition to the 16 people indicted, eight others recently pleaded guilty, including two former FIFA executive committee members, according to the Justice Department.
The government says the misconduct has occurred since 1991.
"Two generations of soccer officials abused their positions of trust for personal gain, frequently through an alliance with unscrupulous sports marketing executives who shut out competitors and kept highly lucrative contracts for themselves through the systematic payment of bribes and kickbacks," the press release states.
Lynch said at a news conference Thursday that the Justice Department "is committed to ending the rampant corruption" in international soccer.
"[Sports] are one of the primary ways we teach our children about character, about fair play and about teamwork. International tournaments promote understanding between nations, and embody an acknowledgement of our common humanity - something that is desperately important, particularly in these times of global challenge," Lynch said. "That's why this investigation does more than address corruption in a worldwide sports organization. It also reaffirms the ideals that have always guided our society - and, most importantly, our young people - toward the fair and just future they deserve."
Included in the latest dust-up in the soccer world are Marco Polo del Nero, 74, and Ricardo Teixeira, 69, the current and former presidents of the Brazilian soccer federation, and ex-members of FIFA's executive committee. Feds also came after Jose Luis Meiszner, 69, and Eduardo Deluca, 75, the current and former general secretaries of CONMEBOL.