ROME, Ga. – A quartet of thieves responsible for a brazen, multi-state cargo theft operation totaling over $1.7 million has been sentenced to federal prison, the Department of Justice announced today. The crew systematically targeted shipments across the Southeastern United States throughout 2019, leaving a trail of financial devastation in their wake.
Yunior Hernandez a/k/a “Yunior Hernandez Guzman,” 50, of Homestead, Florida, received a sentence of two years, nine months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. He’s also on the hook for $880,857.43 in restitution. Carlos Alberto Valdes, 55, of Hialeah, Florida, faces three years, ten months in prison, plus three years of supervised release, and a hefty $1,543,890.60 restitution order. Roberto Quesada Lopez, 44, also of Hialeah, Florida, will spend two years and six months incarcerated and pay $1,229,888.32 in restitution. The harshest sentence went to Yubani Millares Vera, 49, of Hialeah, Florida, who was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a staggering $1,760,479.12 in restitution.
All four men pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges after being implicated in a sophisticated scheme to intercept and steal valuable cargo. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan emphasized the severity of such crimes: “Thefts of interstate shipments disrupt the production and delivery of needed goods and result in detrimental financial impact on businesses, consumers, and the U.S. economy generally.” Buchanan’s office views these prosecutions as a priority.
The scope of the thefts was significant. The ring targeted a variety of goods, including a $500,000 haul of computers in Macon, Georgia on May 18, 2019. A particularly damaging blow came on June 11, 2019, when they stole $640,000 worth of computers destined for the Centers for Disease Control in Emerson, Georgia. The crew also pilfered $110,000 in copper from Denmark, Tennessee on July 21, 2019, and similar amounts from Glade Springs, Virginia, and Fairview, Tennessee in the following months. They capped off their spree with a $340,000 theft of apparel in Kingsland, Georgia on November 16, 2019. The stolen goods were ultimately transported to Florida and sold, likely on the black market.
“The FBI takes cargo theft very seriously, due to the significant impact it has on the United States economy, and the potential for stolen goods to be used to fund other criminal organizations,” stated Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “This theft conspiracy did not stop at our state border, and neither did our investigation.” The FBI partnered with Miami-Dade County Police and the FBI’s Miami Field Office to track the thieves across the Southeast.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber prosecuted the case. Anyone with further information is encouraged to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. Information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Related Federal Cases
- Southeast Cargo Crew Gets Decades in $1.7M Heist · Georgia
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Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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