Two Migrants Illegally in Texas Smuggled 2,500 Others, Get 20 Years in Prison
by Ildefonso Ortiz 2 Aug 2024
Two Mexican nationals who were illegally in the United States are largely responsible for building a human smuggling organization that moved almost 2,500 migrants from Central America into the U.S. The duo laundered almost $2.9 million in profits, federal prosecutors revealed, adding that they often kidnapped migrants for ransom.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane held a hearing in McAllen, Texas, this week where he sentenced 37-year-old Luis Enrique Moctezuma Acosta and 34-year-old Scarlett Fuentes Gavarrete to 20 years in federal prison each for their role in leading the human smuggling organization and using a trucking business to launder almost $2.9 million in profits, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said in a prepared statement. The two are Mexican nationals who were living illegally in Mission, Texas, and will face deportation after their sentence is completed.
Both Acosta and Fuentes previously pleaded guilty to multiple human smuggling and money laundering charges.
Federal prosecutors claimed that the South Texas-based organization led by the Acosta and Fuentes spanned from Honduras to Boston and moved 2,459 migrants — primarily individuals from Brazil.
https://www.breitbart.com/border/202...ng-sentencing/
