Six Cubans and a Florida Resident Sentenced in Trafficking and Money Laundering Case
The group moved more than $22 million through shell companies and charged travelers between $1,500 and $40,000 to enter the U.S. illegally.
By Tomas Gonzalez ·
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that five Cuban nationals and one U.S. citizen received prison sentences on Friday for their roles in an international foreign trafficking, asylum fraud, and money laundering scheme.
The organization charged foreign nationals between $1,500 and $40,000 for transport services and occasionally rented private aircraft to move groups of people. Court documents state the conspirators operated from 2021 to 2025, laundering over $22 million in proceeds through multiple shell companies to hide the origin of the funds.
Liannys Yaiselys Vega-Pérez, 27, received a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracies involving foreign trafficking, asylum fraud, and international money laundering. She managed the logistics of moving people from Cuba to the U.S. and personally filed hundreds of fraudulent asylum applications. Miguel Martínez Vasconcelos, 31, was sentenced to two years for his role in purchasing flight tickets and transmitting at least $150,000 to foreign companies.
Layra Libertad Treto Santos, 30, and Luis Emmanuel Escalona-Marrero, 32, each received 30-month sentences. Treto Santos submitted fraudulent asylum applications and referred relatives to the organization. Escalona-Marrero coordinated with a co-conspirator in Mexico to send Cuban passports to the U.S. to prevent them from being confiscated by Border Patrol, allowing travelers to apply for asylum upon entry.
Walbis Pozo-Dutel, 32, and Emanuel Martínez González, 29, were each sentenced to two years. Pozo-Dutel provided hotel and flight information and coached travelers on what to tell Customs and Border Protection officers. Martínez González coordinated arrival logistics and accepted payments from travelers in exchange for assistance.
The group advertised their services on social media platforms targeted at Cubans living in Cuba. They filed hundreds of fraudulent Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) requests using false addresses and information. The organization falsely claimed that applicants had not been in Cuba since 2011, a requirement for ESTA eligibility, even though the applicants resided in the island at the time of application.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services played a key role in the investigation, which was led by the Homeland Security Investigations Tampa office and the Miami Sector of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division also assisted in the effort. A total of 12 people were charged in the case. Two defendants remain fugitives, and two others are awaiting sentencing after guilty pleas. $2.9 million was confiscated from Escalona-Marrero, $150,000 from Vasconcelos, and $95,000 from Treto Santos.
