Federal prosecutors say three Guatemalans were indicted for running a scheme that used fraudulent sponsorships and identity documents to obtain custody of unaccompanied alien children, while another man already convicted was sentenced for smuggling and sexually abusing a child after exploiting the system.
A federal grand jury returned indictments against Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, her brother Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, and Gladys Marina Caal Chen, 20, all identified as illegal aliens from Guatemala, on charges tied to international smuggling of unaccompanied alien children and fraud. Court filings allege the conspiracy ran from about December 2020 to October 2023 and included multiple fraudulent UAC sponsorship applications to the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The indictments describe aliases, falsified documents, payments routed through accounts controlled by conspirators, and several successful custody transfers obtained by deception.
Separately, Juan Tiul Xi, 27, pleaded guilty to helping smuggle a child into the United States and submitting a fraudulent sponsorship application in which he falsely claimed to be the child’s brother. After gaining custody, Tiul Xi was convicted in state court of sexual battery of a child and received an eight-year sentence; federal prosecutors added a consecutive 26-month federal term. Court documents say Tiul Xi instructed the child to use another minor’s name and birth certificate so he could claim kinship and secure release from ORR.
Federal authorities outline a pattern in which conspirators submitted sponsorship applications using aliases, Guatemalan consular IDs, and bogus birth certificates to convince ORR staff the sponsors were legitimate relatives. Investigators allege paychecks intended for sponsored minors or other beneficiaries were deposited into accounts controlled by Maritza Cahuec Coc and co-conspirators. Officials say the scheme both induced children to make dangerous journeys and then exploited the federal care system meant to protect them.
“For too many years, under the prior administration, unaccompanied children were smuggled to the United States and then taken in by a mismanaged government program guided by reckless policy direction,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Instead of protecting children, these defendants and others allegedly took advantage of the program and used it to entice the illegal smuggling of unaccompanied children to the United States and, as the sentence of Tiul Xi shows, leave them vulnerable to sexual assault, trafficking, and other exploitation.”
Arrests took place in late May: Maritza Cahuec Coc was arrested on May 22 and Carlos Cahuec Coc was arrested on May 28 while driving a car registered to his sister with a 16-year-old unaccompanied alien child in the vehicle. Court papers say Carlos communicated about human smugglers bringing a UAC into the country and how they would deceive ORR to obtain custody. Officials also report that Gladys Caal Chen had previously been fraudulently sponsored as a UAC and later lied in her own sponsorship attempts.
Charges against Maritza Cahuec Coc include conspiracy to defraud the United States, harboring aliens, inducing illegal entry, making false statements, and aggravated identity theft, with statutory maximums that include up to 10 years for conspiracy and additional mandatory terms for identity theft. Carlos Cahuec Coc faces charges tied to encouraging unlawful entry for financial gain and conspiracy, with similar maximum exposure. Caal Chen is charged with making false statements and faces up to five years if convicted.
“We will not tolerate criminals that use deceptive and fraudulent practices to deliberately abuse our immigration programs for their financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “If your business plan is to smuggle others into our country for a profit — especially children — you will come face to face with a federal judge for violating our country’s laws. We owe a debt of gratitude to the federal investigators who brought this dark truth to light taking place right here in Northern Ohio. We will aggressively prosecute these alleged crimes and bring those responsible for such actions to justice.”
Justice Department and Homeland Security leaders stressed multiagency cooperation in the investigations, which drew on HSI, ICE, FBI, HHS-OIG, ORR, and international assistance from Guatemala. “These defendants allegedly induced young children to make the treacherous journey from Guatemala to the United States, and then lied to government authorities to obtain custody, abusing the very program designed to protect vulnerable children,” said Assistant Attorney A. Tysen Duva. “Through Joint Task Force Alpha, the Criminal Division is focused on prosecuting alien smuggling and fraud in the UAC program. In this country, we will not stand for illegal aliens helping to smuggle children into the United States and then sexually assault them.”
Acting Director David Venturella of ICE emphasized enforcement priorities and protecting children. “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not tolerate criminal schemes that endanger children and undermine the lawful procedure established to protect them,” he said. “Our agency, working alongside federal partners, remains resolute in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those who violate the law. We are determined to continue the necessary work to root out this criminality.”
Investigators explained the ORR custody-release process involves identifying a sponsor, submitting an application, and assessing suitability with identity and relationship verification among other checks. Officials say the alleged fraud circumvented these protections, allowing unvetted sponsors to take custody. HHS-OIG and ORR leaders reiterated commitments to detecting suspicious patterns and partnering with law enforcement to protect children in care.
Prosecutors tied the cases to broader national efforts such as Joint Task Force Alpha and Operation Take Back America, describing them as part of a push against high-impact human smuggling and transnational criminal organizations. The government says JTFA targets cartel and transnational enforcement priorities across the Americas and supports prosecutions nationwide. An indictment is an allegation; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
