Brazilian National Living in Worcester Arrested for Alleged Role in Large-Scale Human Smuggling Ring

BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Worcester, Mass., was arrested today as part of an international law enforcement operation targeting a transnational criminal organization allegedly responsible for the illicit smuggling of hundreds of individuals from Brazil to the United States.

Flavio Alexandra Alves, a/k/a “Ronaldo,” 41, a Brazilian national illegally residing in Worcester, Mass., was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to bring aliens to and transport aliens within the United States in violation of law. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Worcester, Alves was detained pending a hearing scheduled for March 28, 2025 at 9 a.m.

According to the charging documents, Alves was previously convicted of human smuggling offenses in the Central District of California in 2004 and subsequently deported to Brazil in February 2005. It is alleged that, sometime after his removal, Alves illegally re-entered the United States and has been residing in the United States without immigration status.

In April 2022, an investigation began into a human smuggling organization (HSO) operating in the United States, Brazil and Mexico, that smuggles Brazilian nationals through Mexico, across the U.S.-Mexico border and into the United States for financial gain and laundering the proceeds. The investigation identified Alves as an alleged domestic-based smuggler for the HSO who joined the organization in mid-2021. It is alleged that Alves coordinated with co-conspirators in Brazil and Mexico to facilitate the transportation of aliens from Brazil into the United States; to launder funds to Mexico to support the HSO; and collect smuggling fees paid by or on behalf of the Brazilian nationals being smuggled.  

Specifically, it is alleged that Alves was responsible for purchasing airline tickets for aliens – including families and groups – to various places within the United States. This included allegedly purchasing airline tickets for Brazilian nationals to travel from border cities to other locations across the United States shortly after the aliens were encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and released from detention. It is alleged that between May 2021 and August 2022, Alves purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix shortly after CBP encounters, to destination cities in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania (Boston, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia).

It is further alleged that Alves sent money to aliens and smugglers located in Mexico to pay for expenses associated with transit into the United States. Bank and financial records obtained during the investigation revealed that Alves allegedly sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in money transfers to facilitate the travel of aliens who were later encountered by immigration authorities illegally crossing into the United States, and paid smugglers in Mexico for their role in the HSO. Additionally, Alves allegedly utilized different methods to conceal the nature and frequency of the transfers, including using in-person money transfer services at various locations throughout Massachusetts; providing different variations of his name and home address; and having other close associates conduct the transactions on his behalf.

Alves also allegedly collected payments from aliens as the fee for being smuggled into the United States – taking a percentage of the fee as his “cut” before transferring the remainder of the money to other members of the HSO based in Mexico.

Additionally, HSI offices in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, supported by other partner law enforcement agencies, detained four individuals today associated with the alien smuggling organization on administrative immigration violations.

The investigation and arrest of Alves was coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 315 U.S. convictions; more than 260 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brasília, Brazil Attaché Troy Clausen for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement today. Substantial assistance was provided by HSI Offices in Brasilia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia; HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C; U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force; and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Acting Deputy Chief Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights & Special Prosecutions Section.

The charge of conspiracy to bring aliens to, or transport an alien within, the United States in violation of law provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.