In July 2013, it was reported that Rivera had used $400 in campaign money to pay for his Capitol Hill Club membership, an exclusive, Republican club. If true, it could have been a violation of Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules that prohibit campaign contributions from being used for club memberships. According to the FEC, Rivera's campaign was still in debt from the 2012 election. Campaign themes

During the primary stage of the 2012 election season that ended in Rivera's defeat by Democrat Joe Garcia, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald identified discrepancies in the campaign finance reports of Garcia's primary opponent, Justin Lamar Sternad. Beginning in Aug. 2012, the newspapers' coverage of Sternad's alleged campaign funding crimes also brought Rivera, who reportedly helped finance anti-Garcia mailers, among other expensive maneuvers executed by the Sternad campaign, to the attention of federal law enforcement authorities. Subsequent investigations by the FBI and the Federal Election Commission resulted in Sternad's indictment on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and concealing the source of unreported campaign funds. Sternad surrendered to federal authorities on February 22, 2013, following a FBI and grand jury investigation which explored Rivera's involvement in the scheme. However it did not produce any charges against Rivera, who denied links to any illegal activity and whose name did not appear in Sternad's indictment. According to The Miami Herald, this was due to the missing testimony of Rivera's close friend as well as Sternad's campaign manager, Ana Alliegro. Alliegro went underground after failing to show up to her meeting with the FBI in Sept. 2012 in which she would have been required to explain eyewitness accounts alleging she funneled the cash from Rivera to Sternad's campaign.