Overview
- Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado, 27, and Jesus Hernandez Ortiz, 37, in the District of Vermont.
- Luna Rosado faces one conspiracy count, 12 counts of bringing aliens for private financial gain tied to a Sept. 17, 2023 event, and two transactional money-laundering counts.
- Prosecutors allege operations from August 2022 through March 2024 that guided migrants flown to southern Canada across the border into northern Vermont using live location sharing and an encrypted chat of about 70 participants, followed by transport to New York City.
- Investigators cite images of a rented Home Depot van, text messages between the defendants and with migrants, and location data; a van stop in 2023 involved about a dozen people, including two young children.
- Ortiz is in custody in the District of Vermont and Luna Rosado is being transported from Ocala, Florida, after prosecutors requested both be detained; the case is part of JTFA’s Operation Take Back America with work by HSI and the U.S. Border Patrol Swanton Sector.