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Table of Contents

Native New Yorker Pleads Guilty in Human Trafficking Conspiracy

A 53-year-old man from New York has admitted to his role in a human trafficking conspiracy that involved the transport of 42 undocumented individuals in a commercial trailer out of Laredo to a northern U.S. location, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Court documents show that Carl Bernstein, a resident of Plainview, New York, was stopped by local authorities on June 6, 2021, for a traffic violation while driving a tractor-trailer on State Highway 16 near Tilden. Upon taking him into custody, authorities discovered multiple people inside the trailer, all identified as non-U.S. citizens unlawfully in the country.

Bernstein admitted that he expected to be paid for driving the vehicle, which carried the 42 undocumented immigrants. The incident highlights the ongoing issue of human trafficking in the United States.

Sheriff Emmet Shelton of the McMullen County Sheriff’s Office praised the cooperation and coordination between local and federal law enforcement agencies, saying, “This case was just good work by law enforcement boots on the ground from beginning to end – with great cooperation and coordination at the local and federal levels. This is how it is supposed to work. We would like to thank and recognize our federal partners for their support, work and dedication to helping keep Texas safe.”

Bernstein is set to be sentenced on December 7, where he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The investigation was conducted by the McMullen County Sheriff’s Office, along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Bajew is prosecuting the case.