Final 3 defendants in South Texas human smuggling investigation sentenced
Defendants made more than $1 million smuggling illegal aliens from Brownsville to Houston
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The final three of seven total defendants were sentenced Wednesday for their respective roles in an alien smuggling operation operating throughout South Texas.
These sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol.
Ruth Fernanda Morales-Lopez, 33, of Brownsville, was sentenced Nov. 5 by U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle to 34 months in federal prison. Judge Tagle also sentenced Esteban Castro-Medina, 41, to 18 months; Alfredo Prieto-Garcia, 44, was sentenced to 47 months for his convictions of conspiracy to bring in and transport aliens, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. All three pleaded guilty to charges at varying times in 2015.
The following other four defendants in this case had been sentenced previously: Abram Erasmo Rodriguez, 22, Olegario Reyes-Bonola, 51, Digma Salinas-De Rivera, 42, and Jose Antonio Marin-Sanchez, 44. Rodriguez was convicted of conspiracy to bring in and transport certain aliens within the United States and received 14 months. Reyes-Bonola, Salinas-De Rivera and Marin-Sanchez were all convicted of bringing in and harboring aliens. Reyes-Bonola and Salinas-De Rivera each received 12 months and one day in prison; Marin-Sanchez was sentenced to eight months.
“Today’s sentencing illustrates HSI’s aggressive stance against human smuggling organizations and their illicit laundering of proceeds through U.S. financial institutions,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson of HSI San Antonio. “HSI investigates complex criminal and money laundering organizations and brings to justice those who elect to circumvent the laws of this nation. HSI will continue to leverage its resources to further identify, disrupt and dismantle these types of transnational criminal organizations.”
According to court documents, all defendants had been implicated in a conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens to stash houses in the Brownsville area, where they were concealed until being transported north to Houston.
Reyes-Bonola, Castro-Medina and Salinas-De Rivera, all Mexican nationals residing in San Benito, Texas, were arrested in a stash house harboring 30 aliens on Nov. 19, 2014. All admitted they concealed and harbored the aliens at the direction of Morales-Lopez.
Rodriguez, of Los Fresnos, Texas, admitted that from November 2013 through August 2014 he participated in the conspiracy. Specifically, he was instructed to pick up the aliens and transport them to the stash house. The plea agreement further indicates that he opened a bank account at the direction of Morales-Lopez. He then accepted cash deposits from families of the smuggled aliens as payment and turned it over to Morales-Lopez.
Further investigation into the organization revealed more than $1 million in smuggling fees being laundered through bank accounts and money services businesses.
Morales-Lopez, of Laguna Vista, Texas, admitted she decided who could stay and who could go at the San Benito stash house based on if they paid their smuggling fees. She further admitted that $1,091,229.90 in her bank account was for alien smuggling fees, and that she structured her withdrawals from that account to circumvent the Bank Secrecy Act.
Prieto-Garcia admitted that he operated stash houses in Cameron County and coordinated the movement of aliens from Cameron County to Houston. He also admitted to accepting payment for the alien smuggling in an amount of $1,091,229.90. As part of his sentence Nov. 5, Prieto-Garcia was assessed a money judgment against him for that amount.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ana Cano and Karen Betancourt, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.
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