A Brazilian National was arrested as part of an international law enforcement operation targeting transnational criminal organizations in the effort to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks. Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program is a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has been recently expanded by the Attorney General to crack down on transnational crime.
Flavio Alexandra Alves, a/k/a “Ronaldo,” 41, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to bring aliens to and transport aliens within the United States in violation of US law. Charging documents allege that Alves was previously convicted of human smuggling offenses in the Central District of California in 2004 and deported to Brazil, after which it is alleged that he re-entered the United States and has been residing here illegally. Alves is alleged to have joined a Human Smuggling Operation (HSO) in 2021 and co-ordinated with co-conspirators to arrange the transfer of people from Brazil to the United States, to launder funds to Mexico to support the HSO and to collect smuggling fees paid by the Brazilian nationals who were allegedly smuggled into the US.
Alves’ alleged actions on behalf of the HSO include purchasing airline tickets for aliens to places within the United States and between locations in the US. It is alleged that between May 2021 and August 2022, Alves purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix after CBP encounters, to destination cities in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Alves is also alleged to have sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to aliens and human smugglers in Mexico to pay for their expenses while traveling to the United States. It is alleged that Alves attempted to conceal the transactions by using in-person money transfer services at various locations throughout Massachusetts and providing different variations of his name and home address, as well as having his associates conduct the transactions on his behalf. Alves and a co-conspirator were allegedly seen on Walmart surveillance video initiating a money transfer to a Brazilian national who was later encountered illegally entering the United States. Alves allegedly collected payments from people illegally in the US as his fee for human smuggling services, taking a percentage for himself and transferring the remainder to other members of the HSO based in Mexico. Four individuals allegedly associated with the HSO were detained at other locations in Pennsylvania on administrative immigration violations.
What is Human Smuggling? What Should You Do If You Are Charged with Being Part of a Human Smuggling Operation?
Human smuggling is often confused with human trafficking, but they are not the same thing. While human trafficking involves the movement of people for the purposes of exploitation, such as labor or sexual exploitation, human smuggling simply involves bringing people into the United States by intentionally evading immigration laws and unlawfully transporting and harboring aliens unlawfully present in the United States. A human smuggling operation is an alleged conspiracy to transport people in an organized manner for profit illegally into the United States. If you are charged with being part of a human smuggling organization, it is an extremely serious matter. The business operations of an alleged HSO may entail other alleged criminal activity that represent serious charges in the US federal and state system, such as identity theft, altering and falsifying government documents, money laundering and other serious crimes.
If you are charged with being part of a human smuggling operation, you may be charged with human smuggling conspiracy in addition to other serious crimes. Conspiracy charges can result in severe consequences, and the prosecution only needs to prove a certain threshold of involvement to aggressively prosecute any individual allegedly involved in such a scheme.
The consequences of a human smuggling conspiracy are grave and will have an irrevocable impact on your life and future in the United States. The charge of conspiracy to bring aliens to, or transport an alien within, the United States in violation of law allows for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of the sentence imposed.
If you have been arrested or charged with human smuggling, or conspiracy to commit human smuggling as part of an alleged HSO (Human Smuggling Operation), the next step is to contact an experienced human smuggling defense attorney as soon as possible. A HSO defense attorney will guide you through your options and ensure that law enforcement’s evidence gathering is scrutinized, that the prosecution abides by the law and that you know your rights so that law enforcement does not unduly use information provided in custody. At Dhar Law, LLP, we have defended countless serious criminal cases with a transnational crime element. We are award-winning white-collar criminal defense attorneys who specialize in working with clients from diverse backgrounds. We strive to make the process of contending with the criminal justice system as easy as possible, facilitating our clients by providing translators in multiple languages. If you have been accused of a serious crime like human smuggling, please contact our award-winning criminal defense team at 617-880-6155 to find out how we can fight for your freedom and your rights.
