Man Pleads Guilty to Alien Smuggling and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Rey Felix-Rubio, age 32, and a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and unlawful possession of a firearm. 

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector, made the announcement.

Felix-Rubio, who entered the United States unlawfully in 2021, admitted that in February 2023, he traveled to the northern border in Chateauguay, New York, where he smuggled five Mexican nationals from Canada and into the United States for profit.  He also unlawfully possessed a firearm. 

Sentencing is scheduled for July 31, 2023, before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino in Albany, at which time Felix-Rubio faces a mandatory minimum term of 5 years in prison and a maximum term of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

United States Border Patrol, Burke Station, investigated this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Stitt is prosecuting this case.