MCALLEN, Texas (AP) - A father and daughter are going to prison for leading a South Texas human smuggling ring that prosecutors say charged up to $2,600 per immigrant for transport to Houston.
Records show 52-year-old Jose Luis Soto-Lopez and 27-year-old Erica Janine Soto of Brownsville were sentenced Wednesday in McAllen. He received 54 months while she was sentenced to 21 months.
Both pleaded guilty, in plea deals, to conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants.
Prosecutors say Soto had a ledger detailing rental properties, travel directions and international money wiring for transports from 2014 through summer 2016.
Five people from Mexico pleaded guilty to smuggling-related counts and received penalties of up to nearly two years in a U.S. prison. They face deportation, along with Soto-Lopez - who lived in Brownsville but isn’t a U.S. citizen.
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