Texas man sentenced for monopolizing international transit industry, fixing prices, and extorting competitors
HOUSTON / Tuesday, March 3, 2026 – A 59-year-old resident of San Benito has been ordered to federal prison and must pay a substantial fine for his role in a long-running and violent conspiracy to monopolize the transmigrante forwarding agency industry in the Los Indios border region near Harlingen and Brownsville.
Roberto Garcia Villarreal pleaded guilty Feb. 6, 2025, to conspiracy to illegally fix prices and allocate the market for transmigrante forwarding agency services, conspiracy to monopolize the transmigrante market, and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks has now imposed a 30-month term of imprisonment. Villarreal must also pay a $50,000 criminal fine. He was ordered into custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Villarreal and others controlled the transmigrante industry through monopolization and by extorting competitors.
“Roberto Garcia Villarreal 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. “Today’s sentence serves as proof that no participant of this conspiracy will walk away without consequence. Although, the conspiracy may be finished, the Southern District of Texas is just getting started.”
“Antitrust criminals deserve lengthy sentences for the economic — and in this case physical — violence they sow. The Antitrust Division is proud to have worked with our law enforcement colleagues on this long-running investigation that will restore competition and punish violent criminals at the U.S.-Mexico border,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Daniel W. Glad of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We will continue working to incarcerate antitrust criminals and hold accountable the remaining co-defendants in this scheme.”
“The use of violence and intimidation to threaten and remove competition will not be tolerated,” said Acting Assistant Director Gregory Heeb of the FBI Criminal Division. “Today’s sentencing shows the FBI’s commitment to investigating and holding accountable those responsible for price fixing and extortion schemes.”
“This case highlights the significant danger posed by transnational criminal organizations operating near our borders,” said acting Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco of Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, San Antonio. “As an accomplice in carrying out a violent operation that targeted small businesses for extortion, manipulated market prices, and concealed millions of dollars in illicit funds—undermining the security and fairness of lawful trade—HSI will relentlessly seek out those who harm legitimate industries through dishonest actions and intimidation. Our dedication to protecting our communities and economic stability remains firm.”
Transmigrantes arrange for and transport used vehicles and other goods from the United States through Mexico for resale in Central America. There are only a few locations where Transmigrantes can cross from the United States into Mexico, one of those being the Los Indios Bridge.
Transmigrante forwarding agencies are U.S.-based businesses that provide services to transmigrante clients, including helping those clients complete the customs paperwork required to export vehicles into Mexico. Villarreal and others fixed prices for transmigrante forwarding agency services and created a centralized entity known as the “Pool” to collect and divide revenues among the conspirators, limit competition from other agencies, and increase prices for their services.
Forwarding agencies who were not part of the conspiracy had to join and pay into the Pool. Villarreal and other Pool members enforced the rules by monitoring whether forwarding agencies were charging the agreed-upon prices and making payments. Forwarding agencies were also required to pay other extortion fees, including a “piso” for every transaction processed in the industry.
To date, eight others have been convicted, seven of whom have already been sentenced in the case, including the leader - Carlos Martinez, 39, McAllen, who received an 11-year prison term.
Three others - Rigoberto Brown, Miguel Hipolito Caballero Aupart and Diego Ceballos-Soto were also charged in the superseding indictment and remain fugitives.
ICE-HSI and FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander L. Alum prosecuted the case along with Senior Litigation Attorney John Davis and Trial Attorneys Brittany E. McClure, Anne Veldhuis, and Michael G. Lepage of the Antitrust Division; and Trial Attorney Christina Taylor of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the HSI Tip Line at 866-347-2423; the FBI Tip Line at tips.fbi.gov or by contacting the FBI San Antonio Field Office at 210-225-6741; or the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations. Whistleblowers who voluntarily report original information about antitrust and related offenses that result in criminal fines or other recoveries of at least $1 million may be eligible to receive a whistleblower reward. Whistleblower awards can range from 15 to 30 percent of the money collected. For more information on the Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program, including a link to submit reports, visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas
