A Del Rio federal court recently sentenced four members of a family to federal prison for their roles in operating an extensive human smuggling organization (HSO) in San Antonio, Texas.
Eva Maria Galeas, 43, of San Antonio; Lisa Marie Ortega, 25, of San Antonio; Sandra Galeas-Mejia, 48, of Mexico, and Norma Galeas-Mejia, 52, of Honduras, were identified as co-conspirators of Roberto Galeas-Mejia, 47, of Honduras.
The Galeas family built a human smuggling business, transporting and harboring undocumented noncitizens, and coordinating payments. The family’s bank accounts were used to funnel human smuggling proceeds, which were then used to pay load drivers and stash house operators, rent stash houses, and for personal expenses such as vehicle purchases.
Funds were also used to aid the HSO. Over the course of the investigation, Homeland Security Investigations thwarted multiple smuggling loads and arrested numerous co-conspirators and undocumented noncitizens.
The defendants were arrested in San Antonio and Houston in 2019. On July 27, 2022, a federal jury found Roberto Galeas-Mejia, Eva Maria Galeas, and Lisa Marie Ortega guilty of all three counts of a superseding indictment: conspiracy to transport illegal migrants, conspiracy to harbor illegal migrants, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Sandra Galeas-Mejia and Norma Galeas-Mejia both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
The following sentences were handed down: Eva Maria Galeas, 180 months in prison; Lisa Marie Ortega, 156 months in prison; Sandra Galeas-Mejia, 84 months in prison; and Norma Galeas-Mejia, 78 months in prison. Additionally, Eva Galeas and Lisa Ortega were assessed money judgments in the amounts of $97,668 and $21,388, respectively. Roberto Galeas-Mejia remains in federal custody while he awaits his sentence hearing.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza stated that the Galeas family built a family enterprise through human smuggling operations. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee added that the case is a great example of how HSI uses its agency partnerships to bring criminals to justice in the United States.
HSI investigated the case with valuable assistance from U.S. Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, Maverick County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle Pass Police Department, Dimmit County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Holly Pavlinski, Antonio Franco, and Rex Beasley prosecuted the case.
The total amount of U.S. currency forfeited was $603,593.00, which was discovered in a safe during the home search of Roberto Galeas-Mejia, Eva Maria Galeas, and Lisa Marie Ortega.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Human Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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