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Government-contracted employee pleads guilty to smuggling 39 migrants in charter bus

Government-contracted employee pleads guilty to smuggling 39 migrants in charter bus
1 month 2 weeks 1 day ago Sunday, December 08 2024 Dec 8, 2024 December 08, 2024 4:52 PM December 08, 2024 in News - Local

A woman who identified herself as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee to Border Patrol agents pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle dozens of migrants, court records show.

Nancy Berenisse Fernandez Luna pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants within the United States.

Luna was one of two individuals arrested after a charter bus with 39 migrants arrived at the Falfurrias checkpoint on Oct. 4.

PREVIOUS STORY: Bond set for government-contract employee accused in smuggling attempt

According to a criminal complaint, Luna told Border Patrol agents she was working with ICE and escorting COVID-positive undocumented juveniles.

While inspecting the charter bus, Border Patrol agents contacted the Centralized Processing Center, and were told they had no transport buses in operation at the time.

The complaint later revealed Luna was actually a government contract employee for MVM, a government contract transport company. 

Channel 5 News was unable to reach out to the company to ask about Luna’s employment status. 

Luna and the bus driver — identified in court as her boyfriend, Juan Torres Ayala — were detained and later arrested on human smuggling charges. Ayala provided a statement saying he was being paid $1,800 to illegally transport the migrants, the complaint said.

Court records show Ayala also took a similar plea deal to Luna’s.

Both individuals face up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing for Luna and Ayala is set for March 11, 2025. 

Court records show Ayala remains in federal custody, while Luna is out on bond.

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