A 24-year-old Hialeah man was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in federal prison for helping run an international scheme that prosecutors say moved thousands of Cuban nationals toward the United States. The case involved fake travel authorizations, private flights, money transfers across multiple countries and fees reaching $40,000 per person.
Erik Ventura-Castro previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling for financial gain and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. WFTV reports that prosecutors said Ventura-Castro submitted more than 40 electronic payments for fraudulent applications and transferred over $97,000 from the United States to the Cayman Islands, Colombia and Mexico to buy airline tickets.
A Smuggling Operation Built Around Fake Travel Paperwork
The operation allegedly ran from January 2021 through June 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors said it helped Cuban nationals claim European citizenship they did not have, then used fabricated documents and false addresses in hundreds of Electronic System for Travel Authorization applications. Cuban nationals are not eligible for the visa-waiver program used by ESTA.
The financial trail was substantial. Federal prosecutors said the group spent more than $2.5 million on flights, moved over $7 million through payment applications and took in more than $18 million during the conspiracy, sometimes chartering private planes for groups of travelers.
Federal Indictment Also Alleged A Sham Immigration Business
The broader case involved a company called ASESORIA Y SERVICIOS MIGRATORIOS LLC, which allegedly promised asylum filings, work permits and residency applications while producing boilerplate claims without clients’ knowledge. The Justice Department said the investigation also uncovered allegations involving unaccompanied minors, including a teenage girl who was instructed to pose as the lifelong friend of an unrelated adult man while crossing the border.
Ventura-Castro was one of 12 people charged in the superseding indictment. WFTV reports that five other defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, while Lazaro Alain Cabrera-Rodriguez, Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero and Gisleivy Peralta Consuegra are scheduled to begin trial on Sept. 21, 2026.
The charges against those three defendants remain allegations unless proven in court. The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa, U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami Sector and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ fraud-detection directorate, with assistance from authorities in the Cayman Islands.
