Yoirlan Tome-Rojas (Source: Bexar County Jail)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A Cuban national living illegally in the United States was sentenced Monday to 17 and a half years in federal prison for operating a multi-state labor trafficking scheme that forced three Cuban women into commercial sex work, federal prosecutors announced.
Sentenced for labor trafficking
What we know:
Yoirlan Tome-Rojas, 46, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio. Tome-Rojas had previously pleaded guilty on June 3 to three counts of labor trafficking, with his sentences set to run concurrently.
Cuban national pleads guilty in Texas to running multistate strip club labor trafficking ring
An undocumented Cuban national pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to labor trafficking charges after helping smuggle three Cuban women into the United States and forcing them to work in strip clubs nationwide.
The backstory:
According to court documents, Tome-Rojas financed the smuggling of three adult women from Cuba into the United States, covering expenses for flights, drivers, hotels, and border-smuggling guides known as coyotes. Upon their arrival, he imposed fake "travel debts" of up to $50,000 per victim and forced them to work in strip clubs seven days a week across Indiana, Detroit, and San Antonio to pay off the balance.
Federal prosecutors said Tome-Rojas demanded all the women’s earnings while continually tacking on additional charges for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, trapping them in an escalating cycle of debt. Two of the victims spent about three months in his custody, paying down only about $1,000 toward their assigned debts. Prosecutors noted the women were prohibited from leaving and suffered in constant fear for their personal safety and the safety of their families in Cuba.
What they're saying:
"This is modern-day slavery, and it is more common in our communities than many Americans realize," said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. "This office, along with our partners at ICE Homeland Security Investigations, will continue to hunt down and prosecute any trafficker who thinks they can exploit vulnerable people on American soil and get away with it."
John A. Pasciucco, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), praised the outcome, stating the sentence reflects the severity of the crimes and HSI's commitment to dismantling human trafficking operations.
"Tome-Rojas preyed on vulnerable women, smuggled them into the United States, and trapped them in a cycle of fear, coercion and escalating debt while stealing the proceeds of their labor," Pasciucco said in a statement.
The investigation was conducted jointly by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the San Antonio Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia McNab and Karina O’Daniel as part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative focused on transnational crime, cartel activity, and immigration enforcement.
The Source: Information in this article is from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas.