Sergio Ramses Mucino Charged in Alien-Harbor Conspiracy

Sergio Ramses Mucino, 42, of Buffalo, NY, is at the center of a federal crackdown on a shadow economy built on undocumented labor, charged alongside Jose Sanchez-Ocampo, 37, and Marguin Sanchez, 22, in a conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. The criminal complaint, unsealed today, paints a picture of a restaurant empire propped up by cash wages, off-the-books payroll, and worker exploitation across four Western New York eateries.

According to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr., Mucino ran Don Tequila on Allen Street, El Agave in Cheektowaga, Agave on Elmwood Avenue, and La Divina in Kenmore with a rigid underground system: a skeleton crew of legal employees on payroll, while the majority—undocumented workers—were paid weekly in cash. ICE investigators found Mucino made all hiring and pay decisions, deliberately sidestepping federal employment laws and dodging taxes on an estimated $50,000 in weekly cash revenue per business.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) uncovered a network of exploitation stretching beyond the kitchens. Between July 2014 and now, surveillance tracked 38 Hispanic workers living in nine apartments and two houses near the restaurants—all tied to Mucino, Sanchez-Ocampo, or Marguin Sanchez. The nine rental units were paid for by Mucino and Sanchez-Ocampo, while the two houses were purchased outright in cash by Marguin Sanchez, allegedly to house the illegal workforce.

The working conditions were grueling: employees routinely labored six days a week, 14 hours a day, for $500 to $800 in cash. Meanwhile, Mucino funneled money through four commingled restaurant bank accounts. Records show he paid Sanchez-Ocampo—called his “right hand man”—$278,432 between January 2014 and June 2016, and issued $102,476.38 to Marguin Sanchez from June to October 2015.

Five additional individuals—Juan Carlos Bernal-Lujano, 51, Miguel Sanchez-Ocampo, 30, Abel Cruz-Martinez, 46, Aida Ramirez-Arellano, 23, Alejandro Valadez-Leon, 47, and Aracelli Lopez-Martinez, 33—were charged with illegal re-entry after prior felony convictions. The investigation, led by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Counihan, confirms Mucino’s operation wasn’t just about cheap labor—it was a structured system designed to maximize profit through lawbreaking.

Mucino and Sanchez-Ocampo were arrested this morning and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroder. Marguin Sanchez remains at large. Authorities seized a 2008 Ford Edge, a 2016 Cadillac Escalade—used to shuttle workers—and a 2009 Porsche Boxster, bought with illicit proceeds. The case, brought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and HSI Buffalo, underscores a growing federal push to dismantle exploitative labor rings hiding in plain sight. The charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.