News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
Joseph Alex Hernandez, 27, of Austin, was sentenced on April 4 to 192 months for transporting noncitizens resulting in death and 120 months for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The two sentences will run concurrently. Hernandez pleaded guilty Oct. 23, 2023.
Partnerships with foundations like Operation Light Shine will allow law enforcement agencies to better serve Northeast Florida communities and the many victims of human trafficking.
U.S. District Judge Alia Moses imposed the following sentences on four defendants: Eva Maria Galeas, 43, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and Lisa Marie Ortega, 25, was sentenced to 156 months in prison. Both are from San Antonio, Texas; Sandra Galeas-Mejia, 48, from Mexico was sentenced to 84 months in prison; and Norma Galeas-Mejia, 52, from Honduras, was sentenced to 78 months. Judge Moses also ordered the forfeiture of $603,593, which was discovered in a safe during the home search of Roberto Galeas-Mejia, Eva Maria Galeas and Lisa Marie Ortega. Additionally, Galeas and Ortega were assessed money judgement in the amounts of $97,668 and $21,388, respectively.
Martin Garcia-Velazquez, 42, of San Antonio in Michoacan, Mexico, was also ordered to pay a $5,000 mandatory special assessment in compliance with the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, which is bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing services for survivors of human trafficking and strengthening law enforcement.
Tony Cardenas, 36, of Phoenix, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit money laundering on Nov. 17, 2023.
Cesar Daniel Hernandez-Ortiz, 23, and Angel Gabriel Lopez-Alvarado, 18, remain in federal custody charged with human smuggling. The men, both Mexican nationals unlawfully present in the United States, and 25 undocumented noncitizens were discovered in a stash house in the 200 block of Sofia Place in the Lower Valley.
If convicted, Michael Andrew Milano, 42, of Merritt Island, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for each count.
Charges unsealed Feb. 22 against Faustino Romero De La Cruz, 40, of Santa Barbara, allege that he organized the attempted smuggling of multiple unauthorized immigrants by boat on April 10, 2022, which resulted in the tragic drowning deaths of three passengers.
Luis Alberto Rivera-Leal aka Cowboy, 38, of Mexico, pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to one count of conspiracy to transport noncitizens placing lives in jeopardy.
Illeysel Carcasses, a 38-year-old Cuban national, was convicted Feb. 15 in the Southern District of Texas of illegally transporting noncitizens in the back of a locked tractor trailer filled with rotting produce.
Edgardo Hernandez-Zamora, 27, was sentenced Feb. 13 to life in prison. He pleaded guilty June 8, 2023. His co-conspirators, Adrian Ramirez, 20, and Adrian Ramirez-Vasquez, 39, both from Mexico, previously pleaded guilty to their roles and received 48 and 60 months in prison, respectively.
Dinero Devon Washington, 46, of Phoenix, further pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport noncitizens on Sept. 7, 2023.
Carl Stephen Smith Jr., 33, of Green Cove Springs, faces a minimum mandatory penalty of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison. Smith has remained in custody since his arrest on Jan. 31, 2023.
Fredi Zagala-Servin, 40, of Kaufman, was sentenced Feb. 7 to 97 months in prison for being a longtime leader and organizer of a human smuggling organization that smuggled hundreds of undocumented noncitizens from Laredo to San Antonio inside semitractor-trailers.
According to court documents, Armando Leonardo Moreno aka Cholo, conspired with other TCO members on or around Sept. 13, 2021, to kidnap a subject from an El Paso stash house.
Texas man pleads guilty to attempted murder of a federal officer following HSI El Paso investigation
Roberto Esquivel, 25, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
Human trafficking is the act of deliberately evading immigration laws and illegally importing people into a country. Transporting people as cargo brings transnational criminal organizations billions of dollars.
ICE Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Patrick J. Lechleitner, met with Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares, at the Washington D.C.-based DHS CCHT today.
According to court documents, Gregory Massey, 30, and his girlfriend and co-defendant Patricia Hart, forced two adult victims to engage in commercial sex in different locations during 2021 and 2022.
Nathanael Alley Rivera, 23, of Eloy, pleaded guilty on Sept. 6, 2023, to conspiracy charges related to his supervisory role in transporting hundreds of undocumented noncitizens for financial gain. During the first months of the conspiracy, Rivera was on probation for a previous human smuggling conviction.
Veronica Pech, 57, of Ridgecrest, California, was sentenced Jan. 29 to 76 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for operating several stash houses in Del Rio and facilitating harboring and transportation of noncitizens.
Sentencing for Maria Mendoza-Mendoza aka “La Guera,” 51, of Honduras, is scheduled for April 2 before U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins.
The Center for Healthy Communities invited HSI Baltimore and other experts, activists and local leaders to take part in the fourth annual Anti-Human Trafficking Conference at the Salisbury University campus.
According to court documents, Riley Covarrubias-Ponce aka Rrili aka Rilay, 31, was a member of the human smuggling organization responsible for the failed smuggling attempt that brought adults and children from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico into the United States.
Gilbert John Montez, 24, of Edinburg, was sentenced Jan. 16 to 200 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the judge noted that when an individual is involved in a criminal enterprise, he can be held accountable for the actions of all the participants involved.
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