Lopez, Mondragon Sentenced in Houston Human Smuggling Case

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Grace C. Becker and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Don DeGabrielle have announced that Victor Omar Lopez and Oscar Mondragon, two brothers, have been sentenced for their participation in a scheme to smuggle Central American women and girls into the United States and force them to work in bars and cantinas in the Houston area.^[1] In addition to being sentenced to 109 months in prison followed by three years of probation, Lopez was also ordered to, jointly with his co-defendants, pay $1.7 million in restitution to the victims.^[2] Mondragon was sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment and was ordered to pay, jointly and severally with his co-defendants, over $1.1 million of the total of over $1.7 million in restitution awarded in the case.^[3]

In total, eight defendants have been convicted in connection with this scheme. According to authorities, defendants used threats to harm the victims and their families if they attempted to leave prior to paying off their smuggling debts.^[4]

Lopez and Mondragon have both previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold persons in a condition of peonage; to illegally recruiting, harboring and transporting persons for labor and services; and to conspiring to bring, harbor, and transport known illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Peonage refers to a condition of involuntary servitude imposed upon an individual to extract repayment of a debt.^[5]

Authorities have stated that Lopez and Mondragon attracted Central American women to the United States with promises of employment.^[6] However, once the young women arrived, they were forced to work in the bars and cantinas of the defendants selling alcohol to male customers. The women were repeatedly subjected to threats of harm to themselves and family members in order to compel their servitude.^[7]

“Defendants Victor Omar Lopez and Oscar Mondragon were members of an international conspiracy that lured young women from Central America to Texas on false promises of a better life and then betrayed that promise by holding these women in a condition of forced servitude in restaurants and bars in Houston,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker. “This is a despicable crime that harms all of society, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively work to prosecute human traffickers.”^[8]

According to U.S. Attorney DeGabrielle, “The excellent investigative efforts from our combined Human Trafficking Rescue Alliance were more than a match for the depraved indifference of these organized criminals.”^[9]

Thus far, co-defendants Maximino Mondragon and Walter Corea have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.^[10] Olga Mondragon, another co-defendant, who was convicted of charges stemming from her involvement in these schemes was sentenced to 84 months in prison. Co-defendant Maria Fuentes was found guilty of harboring the young women for financial gain and sentenced to 30 months in prison. Co-defendant Lorenza Reyes-Nunez was convicted of obstruction of justice and sentenced to 19 months imprisonment.^[11] Co-defendant Kerin Silva was convicted of Conspiracy to Smuggle Aliens and sentenced to 12 months home detention followed by three years of probation.^[12]

Human smuggling is prosecuted under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, the potential punishment can be up to 10 years in prison if the crime was committed for the purpose of commercial or private financial gain.^[13] In particular the U.S. has aggressively fought sex trafficking. In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to fight trafficking for purposes of engaging in sexual activity.^[14] That legislation makes it a crime for a person to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, or obtain by any means a person, knowing that force, fraud, or coercion will be used to cause that person to engage in a commercial sex act. A commercial sex act means “any sex act, on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.^[15] The punishment for an offense involving fraud, force, or coercion is a fine, imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both.^[16]

Federal criminal defense attorney, Douglas McNabb, has written extensively on human trafficking. Some of his work in the area can be seen here.

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[1] Press Release, United States Department of Justice, Two Men Sentenced for Human Trafficking and Alien Smuggling Charges, April, 28, 2008 (available at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/April/08_crt_350.html).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Id.
[13] 18 U.S.C. § 1324.
[14] 18 U.S.C. § 1591.
[15] 18 U.S.C. §1591(c)(1).
[16] 18 U.S.C. §1591(b)(1).