Jersey City sports marketing firm part of FIFA investigation

The investigation into the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) expands to New Jersey including a small marketing company.

CONMEBOL headquarters sits on a 100-acre complex and includes a museum, a five-star luxury hotel, a large convention center and heliport, in Asuncion, Paraguay (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

International Soccer Marketing (ISM) of Jersey City brought in more than $100 million worth of sponsorship money for Copa Libertadores, the biggest soccer tournament in South America according to the New York Daily News.

CONMEBOL is the government organization that organizes the tournament.

ISM, which was working on the recommendation of the indicted Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay, made a commission on each sale. The Daily News reports that the company's controlling principal, listed as "co-conspirator 5" in court documents, is Zorana Danis, a friend of American soccer official and ex-FIFA executive Chuck Blazer and the government's top witness in the FIFA investigation. Leoz got kickbacks from Danis in exchange for their continuing marketing role.

Leoz is currently under house arrest. Through his lawyer, he has said he is innocent and will fight extradition to the U.S.