Two men are facing federal charges after they allegedly brought migrants from Mexico to the United States, then held them for ransom in an attempt to get the migrants’ families to pay additional money on top of the cost of their transportation.
Darwin Jeovany Palma Pastrana, who also is known as Pasha, and Eduar Isrrael Sauceda Nunez brought migrants to Los Angeles County, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and elsewhere, prosecutors said in a federal indictment that was first reported by Seamus Hughes’ Court Watch.
Upon the migrants’ arrival, their families were supposed to be contacted with instructions on how to pick up them up.
Instead, Palma and Sauceda would demand an additional payment, prosecutors said.
The scheme was more fully detailed in the indictment using Sauceda’s April 1 arrest in Norwalk as an example.
The day before, Sauceda brought a male victim and at least three others from Albuquerque to Southern California so the man could be reunited with his family.
On April 1, however, Palma informed Sauceda that the man still owed $1,500, and in the parking lot of a Norwalk Jack in the Box, Sauceda told the man’s family that he wouldn’t be released until he received that $1,500. Sauceda then drove away from the restaurant with the man still in the car.
The family was also told that without the money, the man would be returned to Mexico, where he might “run into bad luck,” the indictment adds.
Once Sauceda thought the family would pay, he returned to the Jack in the Box, only to spot law enforcement. Police pulled Sauceda over and found more than $9,000 in cash and evidence of money transfers in the vehicle, officials said.
In response, Palma threatened the man’s family even more forcefully, sending messages containing “they arrested my driver, you damn woman” and “I’m going to kill you one way or another. Count your hours.”
Officials did not detail if Palma actually retaliated before he was arrested in Albuquerque on May 21 at a residence in which 57 undocumented migrants were being detained, prosecutors said.
Palma and Sauceda face charges including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, threat by interstate communication and interstate communication containing demand or request for ransom, among other charges.
In a similar situation, five Southern California men were federally charged with kidnapping and holding migrants for ransom related to a 2023 scheme. If convicted on all charges, they could be sentenced to life in federal prison.