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November 22, 2011Miami, FL, United StatesHuman Smuggling/Trafficking

South Florida woman sentenced for human smuggling

MIAMI – A Miami Gardens, Fla., woman was sentenced Monday to more than eight years in prison after she pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling illegal aliens into the United States following an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami.

Judith Moody, 59, pleaded guilty to three counts of alien smuggling for profit and one count of aggravated identity theft in May. In addition to prison, she was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

As part of her plea, Moody admitted that on or about Oct. 11, 2010, she was aboard Le Superior, a 35-foot U.S. registered Bertram sport-fishing vessel, when it was intercepted by the Coast Guard approximately 32 nautical miles east of Delray Beach, Fla.

Moody and co-conspirator Jesus Saavedra were attempting to bring 31 aliens into the United States for profit. The aliens were nationals from various countries, including Haiti, Brazil, Sri Lanka and Jamaica. Seven of the aliens had been previously deported from the United States, and three had been deported subsequent to convictions for aggravated felonies. Moody also admitted that she falsely identified herself to Coast Guard and ICE HSI agents as Sandra Anderson and produced a birth certificate with that name to support a false claim of United States citizenship.

Three of the migrants pleaded guilty to aggravated re-entry and were sentenced to time served.

The investigation that led to this sentencing was conducted by ICE HSI, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Border Patrol.

Anyone who knows or suspects that someone is involved with smuggling is encouraged to contact the ICE tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or report crimes via the agency's online tip form.

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