Justice Department charges three in Ohio in child smuggling scheme

Federal prosecutors say a 19-count indictment in Ohio exposed how unaccompanied children can be moved from border custody into the hands of fake sponsors and criminal networks. Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, her brother Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, known as Tuco, and Gladys Marina Caal Chen, 20, were charged after the case was unsealed Thursday in the Northern District of Ohio.

The indictment says the alleged conspiracy ran from about December 2020 through October 2023 and used fraudulent sponsorship applications filed with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement to gain custody of unaccompanied alien children. The counts include conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to enter the United States, false statements and identity theft-related charges. Prosecutors say Caal Chen was herself fraudulently sponsored as a UAC, underscoring how children can be pulled into the same system meant to shield them.

HHS says unaccompanied alien children are under 18, have no lawful immigration status and have no parent or legal guardian in the United States available to care for them. Once another federal agency, usually the Department of Homeland Security, refers them, ORR is responsible for care and for placing them with approved sponsors, usually family members. Sponsors must agree to ensure the child appears at immigration proceedings and, if ordered, any removal. That handoff is where the risk concentrates, prosecutors say: once a child leaves federal custody, gaps in vetting can hand control to adults who are not who they claim to be.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said fraudsters often operate as "super sponsors" for three or more unrelated unaccompanied minors, and said many children are then trafficked for labor or sex. DOJ, DHS and HHS said they identified more than 81,000 addresses repeatedly used to receive unaccompanied minors, more than 76,000 instances where mandatory safety checks were missing and more than 97,000 cases lacking background checks. The figures point to a national screening failure, not just a single criminal case in Ohio.

The broader danger is reinforced by a related prosecution tied to Juan Tiul Xi, who pleaded guilty and was convicted in state court of sexual battery of a child. He received an eight-year state prison sentence and 26 months in federal prison, to be served consecutively. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration had located 146,000 children he said were missing. Blanche said he was not announcing prosecutions of former administration officials. For federal child protection, the message is stark: when sponsorship, screening and follow-up break down, unaccompanied minors can vanish into a system built to keep them safe.