The leader of a “prolific” human smuggling operation who brought hundreds of migrants into the U.S. was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.
San Diego federal prosecutors say Luis Antonio Mendez-Brahan, 59, ran an organization that for nearly a decade charged migrants between $6,000 and $8,000 each to be transported across the border.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said financial transactions by Mendez-Brahan’s three children in the U.S. were tracked to money service businesses in Tijuana, which led law enforcement to the defendant.
The children, Christopher Mendez, Wendy Monserrath Mendez and Nancy Jacqueline Suarez, pleaded guilty and were sentenced three years ago for their roles in the smuggling operation.
Mendez-Brahan was indicted by a grand jury in 2019, but remained at large. He was extradited to San Diego last year.
His defense attorney, Matthew Binninger, wrote in sentencing papers that his client became involved in human smuggling in order to raise money to pay for surgery that his mother needed.
“He realizes now that this is no excuse for his actions,” Binninger wrote. “He is truly sorry for having committed this offense and for involving his children in his crimes.”
– City News Service