Guilty verdict for immigrant who murdered Brunswick whistleblower in illegal labor conspiracy
A U.S. District Court jury returned an unanimous verdict of guilty to all charges lodged against an illegal alien for his role in a conspiracy to kill a whistleblower, who exposed a multi-million-dollar scheme to fraudulently employ undocumented workers.
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According to David H. Estes, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, Juan Rangel-Rubio, 45, of Rincon, Mexico, was found guilty after a five-day trial of conspiracy to retaliate against a witness, conspiracy to kill a witness, conspiracy to conceal, harbor and shield illegal aliens and money laundering conspiracy.
The charges carry a statutory minimum sentence of life in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.
Two co-defendants, Higinio Perez-Bravo, 52, of Savannah and Rangel-Rubio's brother, Pablo Rangel-Rubio, 53, of Rincon, await sentencing after pleading guilty in the conspiracy to kill Eliud Montoya, a United States citizen who blew the whistle on a scheme of hiring and mistreating illegal aliens and who was murdered Aug. 19, 2017 near his home in Garden City, Ga.
“This jury verdict brings resounding resolution to any doubts about the culpability of these defendants in this horrific conspiracy to kill a man who threatened their illegal and lucrative labor-trafficking scheme,” said Estes. “We commend our law enforcement partners who solved this brutal murder and paved the way to holding these criminals accountable.”
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As reflected in court records and evidence presented to the jury, Pablo Rangel-Rubio worked as a supervisor at Wolf Tree, a contract company that performed tree-cutting services on utility rights-of-way. Working with his brother, Juan Rangel-Rubio, also a Mexican citizen illegally present in the United States, the two schemed to hire illegal aliens to work for the company, and then routed the illegal aliens' paychecks to their own bank accounts where they skimmed a portion of the pay for themselves. As a result of this scheme, the conspirators netted more than $3.5 million.
Montoya, an employee at Wolf Tree, saw his colleagues being mistreated and complained to the company and to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. After Montoya blew the whistle on the scheme, Pablo Rangel-Rubio arranged for Mr. Montoya's murder by paying Perez-Bravo for the use of his vehicles and to act as the getaway driver when Juan Rangel-Rubio shot Montoya to death.
Sentencing for all three defendants will begin in November in U.S. District Court.
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“This sentence means that criminals like these defendants will not escape justice and will no longer be able to victimize anyone,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in Georgia and Alabama. “We are thankful for the hard work done by all of the agencies involved in this case and hope that the verdict brings comfort to the victims and their families.”
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Garden City Police Department, the Effingham County Sheriff's Office and the Chatham County Sheriff's Office. It is being prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia assistant U.S. attorneys, including Tania D. Groover.
This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.
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EYES ON TRAFFICKING
This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.
ABOUT PBJ LEARNING
PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.
More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.