The Justice Department announced criminal charges Thursday against 12 people accused of operating an $18 million human smuggling ring that brought hundreds of Cuban nationals to the United States by selling bogus visa and asylum services.
Federal prosecutors say the defendants promoted a sham business called ASESORIA Y SERVICIOS MIGRATORIOS LLC — Spanish for Immigration Advice and Services LLC — on social media, promising legal pathways into the United States from January 2021 through June 2025. Investigators contend the group filed hundreds of fraudulent Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fabricated supporting documents, chartered private flights for clients and laundered payments, including through the Zelle app.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose office announced the charges, said in a statement, "We will not rest until those who profit from the suffering of vulnerable people — including many unaccompanied children — face severe, comprehensive justice." Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti said the indictments expose "a criminal organization that smuggled people into the United States on a massive scale" and that the defendants posed as a legitimate immigration service to attract clients.
Prosecutors allege the defendants targeted Cubans seeking to flee the island, charging victims between $1,500 and $40,000 for the fraudulent services. The indictment says roughly $7 million moved through Zelle transfers over the course of the scheme and that the fake company spent more than $2.5 million on flights for clients, part of what the government describes as an overall $18 million operation.
The 12 defendants named in the indictment are Lazaro Alain Cabrera-Rodriguez, 27; Yuniel Lima-Santos, 30; Liannys Yaiselys Vega-Perez, 26; Marianny Lucia Lopez-Torres, 25; Frandy Aragon-Diaz, 33; Erik Ventura-Castro, 23; Miguel Alejandro Martinez Vasconcelos, 30; Walbis Pozo-Dutel, 30; Emanuel Martinez Gonzalez, 28; Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero, 31; Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 31; and Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra, 40.
Lima-Santos and Aragon-Diaz were separately charged with alien smuggling for financial gain. All defendants except Consuegra face charges of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain, according to the indictment. Consuegra, Lima-Santos, Vega-Perez, Aragon-Diaz and Treto Santos were charged with conspiracy to commit asylum fraud. Cabrera-Rodriguez, Lima-Santos, Vega-Perez, Aragon-Diaz, Ventura-Castro, Martinez Vasconcelos, Escalona-Marrero and Treto Santos were additionally charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Officials said the operation was multifaceted: social media advertising and purported legal services to lure clients; submission of fake ESTA and other immigration forms to federal agencies; creation of counterfeit identity and travel documents; organization of private charter flights to transport clients; and a financial network to collect and move proceeds through electronic transfers. The government said the operation included unaccompanied children among those who were smuggled.
The indictments are part of the Justice Department initiative called Operation Take Back America, a nationwide program aimed at combating illegal immigration and transnational criminal enterprises. Federal prosecutors said the case will be handled in coordination with U.S. attorneys’ offices and law enforcement partners where the alleged conduct occurred.
The charging documents seek to hold the defendants accountable for multiple federal offenses tied to human smuggling, asylum fraud and money laundering. If convicted, defendants face prison terms and forfeiture of criminal proceeds. The Justice Department did not immediately release information about court appearances or whether any of the defendants were in custody at the time charges were announced.
The government’s case highlights a pattern investigators say has grown in recent years: criminal networks offering fraudulent pathways into the United States by exploiting asylum rules and international travel systems. Prosecutors said the strategy of posing as a legitimate immigration service allowed the defendants to solicit large sums from vulnerable migrants while masking illegal activity behind a veneer of legal assistance.
As the case moves forward, federal authorities signaled continued focus on transnational schemes that profit from migration. The indictment and related filings are the latest in a series of enforcement actions the Justice Department has publicized to underscore efforts to disrupt criminal organizations that facilitate unlawful entry and abuses of the immigration system.
