Illegal Sex Trafficking Ringleader Indicted in the District of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging a Venezuelan national who was residing in the United States illegally with sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion after he allegedly threatened a commercial sex worker prior to transporting the alleged victim to Utah to continue doing commercial sex work under threat of force.

Jorge Luis Tejera, 40, who was living in Chicago, Illinois, prior to his arrest, was initially charged by complaint on December 19, 2025.

According to court documents, in November 2024, Homeland Security Agents opened an investigation into a cell of transnational criminal organization “Desastre” related to their potential involvement in a human trafficking operation. Individuals alleged to have been working for Desastre forced vulnerable individuals to work as commercial sex workers for financial benefit. Beginning on a date unknown, and continuing to December 31, 2024, agents identified Tejera as an alleged principal in this illicit business along with others that forced Venezuelan nationals to participate in commercial sex work. Some trafficked individuals were forced into commercial sex work in order to work off a “debt” incurred for their passage (transportation and smuggling) to the United States.  

As alleged, investigators have identified numerous victims of human trafficking in this operation. One such victim, who is alleged to have been trafficked directly by Tejera, had their young child allegedly removed from their custody with threats being made toward the victim and the child if the victim did not engage in commercial sex work.  

Tejera, and his cohorts, who were largely men who are in the United States illegally, often possessed firearms and would routinely brandish them to enforce their will. Under federal law, illegal aliens are restricted from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition. Additionally, it is known that other individuals associated with an outgrowth of this operation were involved in threatening witnesses and victims (forced commercial sex worker) in case number 2:25-cr-00141. 
Tejera’s initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for February 5, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI).

Assistant United States Attorney Sam Pead of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

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 (TCOs), 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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.