CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A San Benito, Texas, man has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 criminal fine for his role in a violent conspiracy to monopolize a border trade industry near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Roberto Garcia Villarreal, 59, was sentenced for his part in a long-running scheme to control the transmigrante forwarding agency industry in the Los Indios, Texas, border region, near Harlingen and Brownsville. The court ordered Villarreal to begin serving his sentence immediately. Transmigrantes arrange for and transport used vehicles and other goods from the United States through Mexico for resale in Central America, and forwarding agencies are U.S.-based businesses that help clients complete the customs paperwork required to export those vehicles. There are only a few locations where transmigrantes can cross from the United States into Mexico, one of them being the Los Indios Bridge in Texas.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Villarreal and his co-defendants fixed prices for transmigrante forwarding agency services and created a centralized entity known as the "Pool" to collect and divide revenues among co-conspirators, limit competition from other agencies, and increase prices for their services. Forwarding agencies not part of the conspiracy were required to join and pay into the Pool, and were also required to pay additional extortion fees, including a "piso" for every transaction processed in the industry. Villarreal pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally fix prices and allocate the market for transmigrante forwarding agency services, conspiracy to monopolize the same market, and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion.
"Roberto Garcia chose to join a criminal enterprise that seized control of an industry through threats and violence, rigged prices against legitimate businesses, and laundered its proceeds — and now, he is headed to federal prison," U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas said. "Today's sentence serves as proof that no participant of this conspiracy will walk away without consequence. Although, the conspiracy may be finished, the Southern District of Texas is just getting started."
To date, eight others have been convicted in the case, seven of whom have already been sentenced, including the leader, Carlos Martinez, 39, of McAllen, who received an 11-year prison term. Three others — Rigoberto Brown, Miguel Hipolito Caballero Aupart, and Diego Ceballos-Soto — were charged in a superseding indictment and remain fugitives. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to contact the Antitrust Division's Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI investigated the case. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the HSI Tip Line at 866-347-2423, the FBI Tip Line at tips.fbi.gov, the FBI San Antonio Field Office at 210-225-6741, or the Antitrust Division's Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations. Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible for a reward ranging from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
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