The ring of alleged smugglers offered Cuban nationals a tantalizing offer: legal U.S. residency by claiming European citizenship. Federal investigators say they raked in $18 million over a four-year period in what was "a sham."
The U.S. Justice Department caught up with them, announcing on Thursday the indictment of 12 people charged for their alleged roles in an international conspiracy involving alien smuggling, asylum fraud, and money laundering.
The operation is accused of illegally bringing thousands of Cuban nationals into the United States for profit.
The defendants, according to federal court documents, operated a "prolific alien smuggling operation" that "facilitated the unlawful entry of Cuban nationals into the United States by preparing visa applications, laundering millions of dollars in payment, and exploiting the immigration process."
The scheme, which ran from January 2021 through June 2025, promoted its services on social media and encrypted messaging platforms, including a WhatsApp group titled, “TRÁMITE DE ESTA Y VISA DE TURISMO A USA PARA CIUDADANOS ESPAÑOLES.” (Processing of ESTA and tourist Visas to the USA for Spanish citizens).
One promotional video advertised the scheme by showing stacks of passports, airline tickets, and visa approvals, said Justice Department officials.
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Prosecutors said they ran "a sham immigration business, ASESORIA Y SERVICIOS MIGRATORIOS LLC, which promised asylum filings, work permits, and residency applications."
"In reality, the company churned out boilerplate asylum claims without clients’ knowledge or consent and even blocked them from accessing their own USCIS online accounts," said prosecutors.
Federal prosecutors said the alleged smugglers grew from a modest operations into a major commercial enterprise, noting the defendants charged clients between $1,500 and $40,000, sometimes even chartering private planes to move them around the world.
They spent more than $2.5 million on flights alone, said prosecutors, who said they funneled more than $7 million through Zelle and other online payment apps.
“Based on a financial analysis conducted of 27 known accounts associated with the defendants and their co-conspirators, the alien smuggling organization took in over $18 million during the course of the conspiracy,” federal prosecutors said in a statement.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the Justice Department "is investigating and prosecuting human smuggling more aggressively than ever before" at a news conference in Tampa to announce the indictment with other top federal law enforcement and immigration officials.
“We will not rest until those who profit from the suffering of vulnerable people — including many unaccompanied children — face severe, comprehensive justice,” she said.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said the indictment "exposes a criminal organization that smuggled people into the United States on a massive scale, and then fraudulently secured immigration benefits for them."
He noted that the defendants were "posing as a legitimate immigration service" and used "social media promotions and false legal filings to attract new clients and perpetuate their fraud."
Acting Director Todd M. Lyons of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement described the indictment as exposing "the depth of a multi-year conspiracy of alien smuggling, asylum fraud, and money laundering that preyed on vulnerable individuals and weakened public trust in the immigration system."
Joseph Edlow, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the "criminal organization operated a front for fake asylum claims, churning out frivolous applications around the country."
“To criminals who seek to exploit our immigration system: we will find you, shut down your schemes, and you will face justice.”
“The defendants in this case conspired with others to deliberately violate our nation’s immigration laws while personally seeking to enrich themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida.
Charges against the defendants include conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, conspiracy to commit asylum fraud, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
The defendants charged in the superseding indictment:
- Lazaro Alain Cabrera-Rodriguez, 27, unlawfully residing in Hialeah, FL;
- Yuniel Lima-Santos, 30, of Tampa, FL;
- Liannys Yaiselys Vega-Perez, 26, unlawfully residing in Lebanon, TN;
- Marianny Lucia Lopez-Torres, 25, residing in Cuba, (formerly Hialeah, FL);
- Frandy Aragon-Diaz, 33, of Cuba, (formerly unlawfully residing in Tampa, FL);
- Erik Ventura-Castro, 23, residing in Hialeah, FL;
- Miguel Alejandro Martinez Vasconcelos, 30, of Tampa, FL;
- Walbis Pozo-Dutel, 30, residing in Katy, TX ;
- Emanuel Martinez Gonzalez, 28, unlawfully residing in Hialeah, FL;
- Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero, 31, of Tampa, FL;
- Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 31, of Tampa, FL; and
- Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra, 40, of Tampa, FL.
