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.
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...
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