HOUSTON—The last person to plead guilty
in a 10-defendant indictment has been sentenced to federal prison for his role
in an organization involved in the trafficking of Mexican females for compelled
service at Houston area bars and restaurants through force, fraud, and
coercion, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Javier
Belmontes, 48, entered a guilty plea on March 19, 2012, for conspiring to
harbor Mexican nationals.
Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes
handed Belmontes a 48-month prison term, which will be followed by three years
of supervised release. Judge Hughes also forfeited two bars, one restaurant,
and several properties that the court found were used to facilitate these
crimes. The government has requested the proceeds from these forfeitures be
used to aid the victims in this case.
Belmontes was charged along with nine
others in a conspiracy involving the recruitment of Mexican women and girls to
travel to the United States with the false expectation of legitimate jobs in bars
and restaurants. The indictment, returned February 15, 2011, alleged that the
conspirators further relied on the services of pimps to supply the women for
use as prostitutes to maintain control of the women.
Maria Rojas, aka “Nancy,” 47, was the
owner of La Costenita, formerly Playa Sola, as well as El Club Restaurante,
formerly La Cueva Restaurante Bar, both located on Clinton Drive in Houston.
Belmontes owned, controlled and operated La Costenita and El Club Restaurante,
while Jose Luis Rojas, 39, operated La Costenita. Seven others were charged in
the indictment with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. Maday Martinez, 35,
and Evelin Carolina Aguera, 39, worked as managers, while Claudia Perez
Ramirez, 28; Silvano Santos, aka “Chivas,” 33; Francisco Maradiaga Jimenez, aka
“Pancho,” 35; and Olvan Ramirez Caceres, 27, worked at La Costenita as lookouts
alerting police presence. The final defendant, Aleyda Juarez, 29, passed out
condoms and charged the females $15 for the condom as well as use of the rooms.
Aguera, Santos, Perez Ramirez, Maradiaga
Jimenez, Ramirez Caceres, and Juarez have pleaded guilty and have been
sentenced. Their sentences for their roles in conspiracy to harboring illegal
aliens has ranged from eight to 11 months, and all will be deported upon
completion of their sentences. Martinez has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting
sentencing.
On November 28, 2011, Maria Rojas and
Jose Luis Rojas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens as well
as conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. They were later sentenced to 16 years
for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking in addition to 10 years for conspiracy
to harbor illegal aliens, to run concurrently. Maria Rojas also pleaded guilty
to illegal re-entry after deportation and received an additional 24 months to
be served concurrently to her other sentences.
The investigation leading to the filing
of criminal charges was the result of a three-year investigation conducted by
members of the Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA) in Houston, which
includes the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Harris County Sheriff’s
Office, Texas Alcoholic and Beverage Commission, Texas Attorney General’s
Office, Department of State, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Houston
Police Department. The HTRA was formed by the United States Attorney’s Office
in Houston as part of a broader effort by the Department of Justice to
concentrate and combine resources of our own office’s civil rights and
organized crime units as well as federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies and non-governmental service organizations to target human traffickers
while providing necessary services to those victimized by the traffickers. The
Houston HTRA was one of the first of 42 such funded organizations and the first
of its kind in Texas. The mission of the HTRA is to foster the collaboration of
local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies with area social service
organizations to identify and assist the victims of human trafficking and to
effectively identify, apprehend, and prosecute those engaged in trafficking
offenses.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ruben
R. Perez and Joe Magliolo prosecuted the case, while Katherine Haden handled
the asset forfeiture matter.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment