McALLEN, Texas - A 22-year-old illegal alien from Honduras has been indicted on charges of human smuggling and making a false family claim, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Luis Fernando Ortiz-Matamoros was originally charged by criminal complaint June 28, 2019. Today, a federal grand jury returned the two-count indictment. He is expected to appear for his arraignment before a U.S. magistrate judge in the near future.
On June 27, 2019, Ortiz-Matamoros allegedly crossed the Rio Grande River near Hidalgo with a young female child, also of Honduras. Martinez claimed to be traveling with his daughter and presented a fraudulent birth certificate for the juvenile, according to the charges.
The criminal complaint indicates he obtained the fraudulent document to show him as the father of the child. However, he was not the father of the child, according to the charges, and was only traveling with the child in order to successfully gain entry into the United States.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Redavid is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
