Man from Dominican Republic sentenced for transporting illegal aliens

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Silvestre German Andujar, 53, a citizen of the Dominican Republic living in Hamilton, Ontario, who was convicted of alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maeve E. Huggins and Paul E. Bonanno, who handled the case, stated that on January 3, 2024, Andujar, an alien, and three other individuals who were not citizens or nationals of the United States, traveled on a motorized raft vessel on the Niagara River from Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada. Andujar piloted the vessel across the United States-Canada border. U.S. Border Patrol Agents responded to the area as Andujar and the others got off the vessel, prompting them to flee. Simultaneously, law enforcement observed co-defendant Luis Davis German Soriano, who had driven from New Jersey to an agreed upon location in Youngstown, NY, to pick-up Andujar and the others, driving in the area near the vessel’s landing spot on the shoreline. Officers conducted a traffic stop. Soriano provided conflicting information as to the purpose of his travel but was released by officers. He then drove back to the pick-up location and picked up Andujar and the others inside the van.

On January 4, 2024, U.S. Border Patrol Agents, parked on the Niagara Scenic Parkway near Blairville Road in Youngstown, observed Soriano operating the van that contained Andujar and the three passengers. Agents stopped the van on Youngstown-Lockport Road in Ransomville, NY. All four occupants in the van were arrested and official immigration records checks conducted.

Luis Davis German Soriano was previously convicted and sentenced.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent in Charge Martin B. Coombs, and the Lewiston Police Department, under the direction of Chief Frank Previte.

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