A Cuban national was sentenced to prison Wednesday for his role in an international operation that involved operating a “sham” immigration business to smuggle migrants into the United States, federal officials said.
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Erik Ventura-Castro, 24, who resides in Hialeah, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He is among the 12 people accused of facilitating the smuggling operation by preparing visa applications, laundering millions of dollars in payment and exploiting the immigration process through the business, ASESORIA Y SERVICIOS MIGRATORIOS LLC.
“Ventura-Castro was part of a complex conspiracy responsible for smuggling aliens into the United States on a massive scale,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendant and others recruited aliens using social media, charged thousands of dollars to bring them into the country illegally, and helped them get immigration benefits to which they were not entitled.”
From January 2021 through June 2025, the defendants posed as a legitimate immigration service and used social media to claim Cuban nationals could secure U.S. entry through false claims of European citizenship, officials said.
The defendants promoted their services on social media through promotional videos and communicated through a WhatsApp group called “TRÁMITE DE ESTA Y VISA DE TURISMO A USA PARA CIUDADANOS ESPAÑOLES” (Processing of ESTA and tourist Visas to the USA for Spanish citizens), officials said.
Investigators said Ventura-Castro advertised trips for migrants to travel from Cuba to the United States through third-party countries and assisted them in obtaining fraudulent ESTAs.
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The defendants allegedly charged clients between $1,500 and $40,000. Records show they spent over $2.5 million on flights alone, sometimes even chartering private planes to move groups of migrants, and funnelled over $7 million through payment apps like Zelle.
“Today’s sentencing is evidence of our all-out war on immigration fraud,” said Director Joseph Edlow of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is proud to have worked with our law enforcement partners to dismantle this criminal enterprise, which churned out thousands of fake asylum claims and flooded the country with illegal aliens. As Ventura-Castro and his criminal associates are being brought to justice, we will continue our mission protecting Americans from those who seek to exploit our laws and endanger our communities.”
Ventura-Castro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments on May 7.
Liannys Yaiselys Vega-Perez, 31; Miguel Alejandro Martinez Vasconcelos, 31; Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 30; Emanuel Martinez Gonzalez, 29; and Walbis Pozo-Dutel, 31, have all pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Lazaro Alain Cabrera-Rodriguez, Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero and Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra are awaiting trial, which is scheduled to begin on Sept. 21.
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