Two men have been charged with a transnational human smuggling and money laundering scheme in the District of Vermont, according to a recent indictment.
Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado, a 27-year-old Dominican national, and Jesus Hernandez Ortiz, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico, are accused of conspiring to smuggle foreign nationals from Mexico and Central and South America into the United States via the U.S.-Canada border.
According to court documents, the scheme began in August 2022 and continued through at least March 2024. Luna Rosado allegedly directed the operation, coordinating the illegal transport of aliens across the U.S.-Canada border into northern Vermont.
Aliens arrived by airplane from their origin country to southern Canada, and Luna Rosado used live shared cellular location data to guide them across the Canadian border to northern Vermont. From there, he used an encrypted chat platform to communicate and arrange for drivers, including Hernandez Ortiz, to pick up the aliens at the northern border.
The drivers then drove the aliens from Vermont to New York City, where they paid Luna Rosado in U.S. currency, which he deposited and withdrew into and through the U.S. financial system in amounts exceeding $10,000.
Luna Rosado is charged with one count of conspiracy to illegally bring aliens to the United States, 12 counts of illegally bringing aliens to the United States for private financial gain, and two counts of transactional money laundering. Hernandez Ortiz is charged with one count of conspiracy to illegally bring aliens to the United States and 12 counts of illegally bringing aliens to the United States for private financial gain.
The investigation and charges are supported by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security.
Luna Rosado’s operation was allegedly dismantled after law enforcement stopped a rented Home Depot van driven by Hernandez Ortiz during a smuggling event.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt, and Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia of the Swanton Sector of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made the announcement.
Agents from the Swanton Sector Intelligence Unit and the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Derby Line Office led the U.S. investigative efforts, with assistance from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. and CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.
Trial Attorneys Jake Drucker and Emily Cohen of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chet Kirkham and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles for the District of Vermont are prosecuting the case.
The indictment was unsealed on an unspecified date, although the investigation and charges are ongoing.
Related Federal Cases
- Joel Gil-Garcia, Alien Smuggling, Vermont 2024 · New York
- Roberto Rivera-Ortiz, Alien Smuggling, Vermont 2014 · New York
- Viatcheslav Kim, Alien Smuggling, Vermont 2017 · Kansas
- Salmen Hernandez-Ayala, Alien Smuggling, Vermont 2018 · New Hampshire
- New Hampshire Human Trafficking Task Force Receives $2M DOJ Grant · New York
Key Facts
- State: Vermont
- Category: Human Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Human TraffickingHuman TraffickingHuman TraffickingHuman Trafficking