六人团伙因国际人口走私、庇护欺诈与洗钱被判刑：向数千名古巴人收费，洗钱逾2200万美元
美国司法部10月29日宣布，5名古巴公民与1名美国公民当天因参与一个庞大的国际人口走私、庇护欺诈与洗钱团伙被判刑。该团伙向每名偷渡者收取1500至4万美元不等的费用，有时甚至包租私人飞机运送偷渡者。
根据法庭文件，主犯利安尼斯·维加-佩雷斯（Liannys Yaiselys Vega-Perez，27岁）被判4年监禁；米格尔·马丁内斯·瓦斯孔塞洛斯（Miguel Martinez Vasconcelos，31岁）、路易斯·埃马努埃尔·埃斯卡洛纳-马雷罗（Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero，32岁）与瓦尔比斯·波索-杜特尔（Walbis Pozo-Dutel，32岁）各被判2年；拉伊拉·特雷托·桑托斯（Layra Libertad Treto Santos，30岁）被判30个月；埃马努埃尔·马丁内斯·冈萨雷斯（Emanuel Martinez Gonzalez，29岁）被判2年。法院另判埃斯卡洛纳-马雷罗没收290万美元、瓦斯孔塞洛斯没收15万美元、特雷托·桑托斯没收9.5万美元。
检方指，该团伙引诱数千名古巴人非法入境美国：或经南部边境偷渡，或利用伪造的旅行授权电子系统（ESTA）免签申请从入境口岸入境——古巴居民本不符合 ESTA 资格，团伙在数百份申请中谎称申请人自2011年以来不在古巴。入境后，团伙还经营虚假移民福利业务，收费替人提交伪造的庇护等申请。2021年至2025年间，该团伙通过多家空壳公司洗钱超过2200万美元；仅2022年7月至2024年11月，就在一家航空公司花了超过60万美元购买商业航班机票。
司法部刑事司助理部长 A·泰森·杜瓦（A. Tysen Duva）表示，被告把非法移民做成了数百万美元的犯罪生意。佛罗里达中区联邦检察官格雷戈里·基霍（Gregory W. Kehoe）表示将继续与专案伙伴合作打击此类活动。
此案共有12人被起诉：两人已认罪候判，一人经审判被定罪候判，文图拉-卡斯特罗（Erik Ventura-Castro）已于7月29日被判30个月，另有两人仍然在逃。此案由司法部与国土安全部联合的「阿尔法联合专案组」（JTFA）支持起诉，属「夺回美国行动」（Operation Take Back America）的一部分。
Six Sentenced in International Alien Smuggling, Asylum Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy: More Than $22 Million Laundered
The Justice Department announced on October 29 that five Cuban nationals and one U.S. citizen were sentenced for their roles in a vast international conspiracy involving alien smuggling, asylum fraud and money laundering. The group charged migrants between $1,500 and $40,000 for smuggling services and at times chartered private planes to move groups of aliens.
According to court documents, Liannys Yaiselys Vega-Perez, 27, was sentenced to four years in prison; Miguel Martinez Vasconcelos, 31, Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero, 32, and Walbis Pozo-Dutel, 32, were each sentenced to two years; Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 30, was sentenced to 30 months; and Emanuel Martinez Gonzalez, 29, was sentenced to two years. Escalona-Marrero was ordered to forfeit $2.9 million, Vasconcelos $150,000, and Treto Santos $95,000.
Prosecutors said the organization induced thousands of Cuban aliens to enter the United States, either smuggled across the southern border or through ports of entry using fraudulent Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) visa waivers. Cuban residents are not eligible for ESTA; the group filed hundreds of applications falsely claiming applicants had not been in Cuba since 2011. Once in the U.S., the group ran a fraudulent immigration benefits business, filing bogus asylum and other applications for a fee. Between 2021 and 2025 the defendants laundered more than $22 million through shell companies, and between July 2022 and November 2024 spent more than $600,000 with a single airline on commercial flights.
"These defendants turned illegal immigration into a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida said his office would keep working with task force partners against such schemes.
Twelve individuals were charged in the case: two have pleaded guilty and await sentencing, one was convicted at trial, Erik Ventura-Castro was sentenced on July 29 to 30 months, and two remain fugitives. The case was prosecuted with Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) as part of Operation Take Back America.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的美国司法部总部大楼（素材库 federal-core 固定图）。GSM 素材库。 / U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington. GSM asset library (federal-core pack).
