North Country Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Deadly Alien Smuggling Conspiracy

WASHINGTON – A Hogansburg, New York, woman pled guilty today for her role in a deadly smuggling conspiracy that left a family of four, including two children under the age of three, dead in the St. Lawrence River.

According to court documents, Janet Terrance, age 45, conspired with five others to bring Indian and Romanian nationals into the United States for the purpose of private financial gain. Co-conspirators Dakota Montour, age 31, and Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, age 43, both of whom reside on the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in New York, entered guilty pleas on January 23, 2025, and October 8, 2024, respectively

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon, of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, stated: “The defendant and her coconspirators — fueled by greed, indifference, and recklessness — smuggled aliens via vehicle and boat across the U.S.-Canada border in dangerous weather conditions. They endangered the lives of two small children and their parents for profit, resulting in the family’s tragic deaths. Dismantling transnational criminal organizations that smuggle people into and throughout the United States is a top priority for the Department of Justice.”

Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon said: “A family of four died because a smuggling organization put them in harm’s way for profit. Our top priority is the prosecution and dismantling of smuggling organizations. By securing our northern border, we aim to avoid more tragedies like this one.”

According to court documents, Terrance, Montour, and Sharrow admitted to working with a human smuggling organization (HSO) on the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation (“the AMIR”) and in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, that smuggled aliens from mainland Cornwall, Ontario, to Cornwall Island, Ontario, and then into the Northern District of New York. According to court documents, the HSO routinely smuggled aliens from various countries into the United States. The HSO arranged for aliens to stay in local motels in Cornwall, Canada, before transporting the aliens to the AMIR to stage the aliens on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.  Members of the HSO would then transport the aliens by boat across the St. Lawrence River to later be driven into the Northern District of New York.

In late March 2023, the co-conspirators were employed to illegally transport a Romanian family of four from Cornwall, Canada, into the Northern District of New York for private financial gain. The Romanian family consisted of a mother, father, a one-year-old boy, and a two-year-old girl. Both Montour and Terrance admitted that they were hired to transport the Romanian family to the AMIR from mainland Cornwall, Canada.

Montour admitted that he was aware of the dangerous weather conditions on March 29, 2023 — high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility — yet the family of four was loaded into a small boat by another co-conspirator to cross the St. Lawrence River. The boat capsized, and the family died as a result.

HSI Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan stated: “The tragic deaths of two innocent, unknowing toddlers and their parents underscores the devastating impacts of alien smuggling. Janet Terrance and her co-conspirators moved forward with this smuggling attempt despite the dangerous conditions and sheer illegality of the act, placing these victims in the situation that ultimately killed them.  HSI Massena is committed to enforcing U.S. laws at our border to protect the safety and the security of our communities.”

Acting AMPS Chief Ranatiiostha Swamp stated: “The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service is dedicated to keeping our community safe. By working closely with Homeland Security on this investigation, we are enhancing efforts to combat human smuggling and cross-border illegal activity, ensuring the safety and security of our territory.”

Montour pled guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling, alien smuggling for financial gain, and alien smuggling resulting in death. Montour faces the maximum term of life in prison.

Sharrow and Terrance each pled guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling.  Additionally, Sharrow and Terrance each pled guilty to alien smuggling for financial gain. Each of those counts carries a mandatory minimum term of 5 years in prison and a maximum term of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the defendants’ sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt and Trial Attorney Jenna E. Reed of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case.

HSI Massena engaged in an extensive years-long investigation of the case, with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., CBP’s National Targeting Center, New York State Police, Canada Border Services Agency, AMPS, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, Ontario Provincial Police, Surete Du Quebec, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Cornwall Police Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant support with foreign legal assistance requests.

The investigation is being conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program 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 coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.