The US Department of Justice stated that a Cuban man living in Tampa, Florida, has admitted to being involved in transnational smuggling, immigration fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) participated in and assisted in the related federal investigation.
On August 13th, the US Department of Justice announced that 31-year-old Yuniel Lima-Santos has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiring for profit to engage in human trafficking, human trafficking, conspiring to defraud the US government, and conspiracy to launder money. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Lima-Santos conspired with others to operate an international smuggling organization, allegedly enticing or assisting thousands of Cubans to illegally enter the US, using fraudulent methods such as the “Electronic System for Travel Authorization” (ESTA) and other immigration fraud schemes to assist foreigners in entering the US illegally or obtaining US immigration benefits through deception.
The Department of Justice noted that the organization promoted smuggling and fake visa services through multiple social media platforms, recruiting Cuban citizens and other foreigners.
The organization allegedly helped Cubans falsely claim European citizenship to qualify for the US Visa Waiver Program and used ESTA to enter the US.
The defendant also submitted hundreds of fraudulent ESTA applications to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) using false addresses and forged documents.
According to the Department of Justice, Cuban citizens are not eligible for the ESTA program. To obtain ESTA, the individuals involved also falsely claimed that the applicants had not been in Cuba since 2011, while the defendant knew that some applicants were actually in Cuba when submitting the applications.
Lima-Santos also admitted to arranging for foreigners to travel from their home countries to the US, including assisting in purchasing international and domestic flight tickets to transport smugglers to various locations in the US.
He, along with co-defendant Frandy Aragon Diaz, smuggled five foreigners into the US. Lima-Santos also admitted to assisting Aragon Diaz in illegally bringing Cuban women into the US, who then worked in strip clubs to repay smuggling fees.
The smuggling organization charged foreigners between $1,500 and $40,000. Some co-conspirators even chartered private planes to transport groups of foreigners to different locations.
To facilitate money laundering activities, Lima-Santos established a shell company in Florida. The company had no employees, wages, or reported income but was used to transfer proceeds from human trafficking and conceal the true source and nature of illegal funds.
Investigators pointed out that Lima-Santos and other co-defendants regularly transferred funds to companies and locations outside the US, including using these funds to purchase international flight tickets to assist foreigners in coming to the US.
From 2021 to 2024, Lima-Santos exported over $600,000 from the US to foreign countries to purchase flight tickets to assist foreigners in illegally entering the US.
According to information released by the Department of Justice, Lima-Santos admitted to:
– A charge of conspiring to profit from human trafficking;
– Five charges of smuggling humans for profit;
– Conspiracy to defraud the US;
– Conspiracy to launder money;
– Conspiracy to conceal money laundering tools.
He could face up to 20 years in prison, and the sentencing date has not been disclosed. The final sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Initially, 12 individuals were indicted for their alleged involvement in the criminal conspiracy. Currently, several defendants have pleaded guilty, while others are awaiting sentencing, and some are awaiting trial.
This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa office, the US Border Patrol Miami sector, and the Fraud Detection and National Security section under USCIS’s supervision. It received assistance from other federal agencies and the authorities in the Cayman Islands.
The trial attorneys in charge of prosecuting this case are Amanda Brown from the Criminal Section of the US Department of Justice and Courtney Derry, a federal prosecutor in the Middle District of Florida.