Villarreal, 59, of San Benito, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to fixing prices, monopolizing the market, and interfering with commerce through extortion. He and his co-defendants controlled the specialized business of helping transport used vehicles and goods from the United States through Mexico for resale in Central America. The conspiracy operated near the Harlingen and Brownsville area, where there are only a few locations where transmigrantes can cross from the United States into Mexico.
According to court documents, Villarreal and his co-defendants created a centralized entity called the "Pool" that fixed prices for transmigrante forwarding services and collected revenues from participating agencies. Forwarding agencies who were not part of the conspiracy had to join and pay into the Pool, plus additional extortion fees including a "piso" for every transaction processed.
Pool members monitored whether forwarding agencies were charging the agreed-upon prices and making payments to the Pool. The court remanded Villarreal into custody to begin his sentence immediately.
"Antitrust criminals deserve lengthy sentences for the economic — and in this case physical — violence they sow," said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.
"Roberto Garcia chose to join a criminal enterprise that seized control of an industry through threats and violence, rigged prices against legitimate businesses, and laundered its proceeds — and now, he is headed to federal prison," said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei of the Southern District of Texas.
Eight defendants have been convicted to date, with conspiracy leader Carlos Martinez, 39, of McAllen, receiving an 11-year prison sentence. Three other defendants — Rigoberto Brown, Miguel Hipolito Caballero Aupart, and Diego Ceballos-Soto — remain fugitives.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Attorney John Davis and Trial Attorneys Brittany E. McClure, Anne Veldhuis and Michael G. Lepage of the Antitrust Division; Deputy Chief Kelly Pearson of the Criminal Division's Violent Crime and Racketeering Section; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander L. Alum for the Southern District of Texas.