The United States Attorney, Roger B. Handberg, has announced the filing of a criminal complaint against Maria Lopez-Vega, a 51-year-old woman from Mexico. Lopez-Vega is charged with receiving payment for transporting undocumented aliens to aid in their illegal presence in the United States. If found guilty, Lopez-Vega could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
On February 3, 2025, a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper pulled over an SUV on Interstate-75 for a traffic violation, as stated in the complaint. The driver of the SUV was Lopez-Vega, who had five passengers in the vehicle. When asked for identification, Lopez-Vega showed the Trooper a photograph of her Mexican passport.
The Trooper reached out to U.S. Border Patrol agents for help because he suspected that Lopez-Vega was in the United States illegally and was also transporting other undocumented individuals.
Agents at the scene interrogated Lopez-Vega and one of the passengers regarding their citizenship and immigration status. Lopez-Vega admitted that she was a Mexican citizen and did not possess legal authorization to be in the United States.
Authorities have also discovered that the five passengers in question were unlawfully residing in the United States and held Mexican, Honduran, and/or Guatemalan citizenship.
Lopez-Vega admitted during further questioning that she was paid to transport the immigrants from Texas to Florida. Two of the passengers confessed that they had entered the United States illegally and had paid for help in crossing the Mexican border and getting transported to Florida.
A complaint is a formal charge that accuses a defendant of committing one or more violations of federal criminal law. It is important to remember that every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Florida Highway Patrol are currently investigating this case. Assistant United States Attorney Elisibeth Adams is responsible for prosecuting it.