Skip to main content
Press Release

Louisiana Man Sentenced to 14.5 Years in Prison for Operating an Arizona Based Alien Smuggling Organization

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona

     PHOENIX – Otoniel Galindo Vasquez-Lopez, 29, of Bossier, La., was sentenced on March 30, 2015 by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 14.5 years in custody and three years of supervised release for his role as the leader of an Arizona based alien smuggling organization after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Vasquez-Lopez employed and directed money launderers and alien smugglers in Arizona, and coordinated transportation and payment with hundreds of aliens and their families, from the assumed anonymity of Bossier, La.

     Vasquez-Lopez sentence reflects that illegal aliens who utilized his organization, died while in transport to other destinations in the United States.  Specifically, on July 22, 2012, two illegal aliens transported by Vasquez-Lopez’s alien smugglers were killed in a roll over double fatality in Holbrook, Ariz., after being ejected from a Dodge minivan that was overloaded with 15 people and crashed when a tire blew.  Additionally, on June 23, 2012, Vasquez-Lopez’s name and telephone number were found in the pocket of a deceased alien, who died in the dessert near Sells, Ariz., after being left behind by his guides when he could not keep up with his group.

     Additionally, over #30 other alien smugglers and money launders in this organization were also arrested, convicted, and sentenced in the District of Arizona.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Phoenix. The prosecution was handled by Kristen Brook, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

 

CASE NUMBER:           CR-13-1513-PHX-GMS

RELEASE NUMBER:   2015-030_Vasquez-Lopez

 

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Updated April 1, 2015

Press Release Number: 2015-030_Vasquez-Lopez