BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The final of seven defendants residing in the Brownsville area have been sentenced for their respective roles in an alien smuggling operation operating throughout South Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson along with Acting Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - San Antonio. All had pleaded guilty to charges at varying times in 2015.
Ruth Fernanda Morales-Lopez, 33, pleaded guilty to bringing in and harboring aliens and money laundering. Today, U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle ordered her to serve a total of 34 months in federal prison. Also sentenced today was Esteban Castro-Medina, 41, and Alfredo Prieto-Garcia, 44. Castro-Medina received a sentence of 18 months for bringing in and harboring the aliens, while Prieto-Garcia was sentenced to 47 months for his convictions of conspiracy to bring in and transport aliens as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The remaining defendants - Abram Erasmo Rodriguez, 22, Olegario Reyes-Bonola, 51, Digma Salinas-De Rivera, 42, and Jose Antonio Marin-Sanchez, 44 - were sentenced previously. Rodriguez was convicted of conspiracy to bring into and transport certain aliens within the United States and received 14 months, while Reyes-Bonola, Salinas-De Rivera and Marin-Sanchez were all convicted of bringing in and harboring the aliens. Reyes-Bonola and Salinas-De Rivera each received 12 months and one day in prison, while 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 Dawson. “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."
All 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 illegal aliens who resided in San Benito, were arrested in San Benito at a stash house harboring 30 aliens on Nov. 19, 2014. All admitted they were responsible for concealing and harboring the aliens at the direction of Morales-Lopez.
Rodriguez, of Los Fresnos, had 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, admitted she was the person who decided who could stay and who could go at the San Benito stash house based on whether they paid their smuggling fees. She further admitted $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 their movement 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 today, Prieto-Garcia was assessed a money judgment against him for that amount.
HSI led the investigation with assistance from Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ana Cano and Karen Betancourt are prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
