Stacey Taylor, a 42-year-old resident of Plattsburgh, New York, was arraigned following an indictment by a federal grand jury in Albany. She faces charges related to her alleged involvement in an international conspiracy to smuggle foreign nationals, primarily from India, into the United States across the northern border.
Court documents state that U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped Taylor's vehicle near Churubusco, New York, on January 20. Inside the vehicle were four foreign nationals—three Indian and one Canadian—who had reportedly crossed into the United States illegally in cold weather conditions. Text messages found on Taylor’s cellphone suggested she had participated in several other smuggling activities prior to this incident. Authorities allege that after her arrest in January 2025, Taylor was again stopped during a suspected smuggling operation in August and implicated in similar activity as recently as September.
The indictment charges Taylor with conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and four counts of alien smuggling for profit. Three of those counts are considered second or subsequent offenses. If convicted, each count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment, with additional penalties for repeat offenses.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York announced the charges.
The investigation is being conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Rouse’s Point and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including the Champlain Station of the U.S. Border Patrol. Additional support has come from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington D.C., CBP’s International Interdiction Task Force, and other agencies.
This case stems from efforts by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which is a partnership between the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security aimed at dismantling transnational criminal organizations involved in human smuggling across American borders. JTFA includes members from various U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along both the southwest border and northern regions such as Vermont and Florida, as well as divisions within the Justice Department focused on human rights prosecution and money laundering enforcement.
According to officials, JTFA has led to over 425 arrests domestically and internationally targeting leaders and organizers of alien smuggling operations; more than 375 convictions; over 325 significant jail sentences; and asset forfeitures connected to these crimes.
Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour from the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) of the Criminal Division, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt for the Northern District of New York, are prosecuting this case.
Officials note that “An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative using resources from multiple Department of Justice programs to combat illegal immigration networks, disrupt organized crime groups involved in trafficking activities, and protect communities from violent offenders.
