Vermont Indictment Exposes Cross-Border Smuggling And Money Laundering Network

A newly unsealed indictment in the District of Vermont has exposed the operational mechanics of a transnational human smuggling and money laundering scheme that exploited the US-Canada border and the US financial system. The case underscores the growing convergence between organised immigration crime, encrypted communications and transactional laundering activity.

Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado, a Dominican national unlawfully present in the United States, and Jesus Hernandez Ortiz of Puerto Rico have been charged with conspiracy to illegally bring foreign nationals into the United States for private financial gain. The indictment relates to a 17 September 2023 smuggling event and outlines a broader operation allegedly active from August 2022 through March 2024. Luna Rosado also faces two counts of transactional money laundering for conducting financial transactions involving proceeds derived from smuggling activities.

According to court filings, the operation moved migrants from Mexico and Central and South America to southern Canada by air before guiding them across the Canadian border into northern Vermont. Luna Rosado allegedly used live shared cellular location data to direct individuals across remote crossing points before arranging onward transport to New York City through an encrypted messaging platform comprising approximately 70 participants. Drivers, including Hernandez Ortiz, collected individuals at the border and transported them south in rented vehicles. Upon arrival, migrants allegedly paid Luna Rosado in US currency, with transactions exceeding $10,000 subsequently deposited and withdrawn through US financial institutions.

The use of encrypted communications, shared geolocation tools and coordinated cash collection illustrates the operational sophistication of modern human smuggling networks. Of particular regulatory relevance is the laundering typology described in the indictment. The alleged deposit and withdrawal of proceeds in structured amounts highlights the continued exposure of the banking system to cross-border organised immigration crime and raises questions around transaction monitoring effectiveness, beneficial ownership transparency and the detection of geographically concentrated cash activity.

The investigation was led by US Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agents from the Swanton Sector Intelligence Unit and Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution is supported by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a collaboration between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security focused on dismantling high-impact human smuggling and trafficking networks operated by Cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs).

JTFA has been expanded to target smuggling corridors not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle but also in Canada, the Caribbean and maritime routes. To date, JTFA reports more than 435 domestic and international arrests, over 385 convictions and more than 330 significant custodial sentences, alongside substantial asset forfeitures. The case also forms part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative integrating resources from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods to disrupt cartel and TCO activity.

For compliance professionals, this indictment is a further reminder that human smuggling is not solely a border security issue. It is a financially motivated transnational crime that interfaces directly with regulated financial institutions. Effective anti-money laundering controls, cross-border intelligence sharing and advanced data analytics remain critical in identifying the financial footprints that underpin organised immigration crime.

Read the press release here.