A San Benito man has been sentenced to federal prison and fined for his involvement in a conspiracy to control the transmigrante forwarding agency industry near the Texas-Mexico border. Roberto Garcia Villarreal, 59, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to charges of conspiring to fix prices, monopolize the market, and interfere with commerce through extortion.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks sentenced Villarreal to 30 months in prison and imposed a $50,000 fine. Villarreal will be held in custody until he is transferred to a federal prison facility.
According to court documents, Villarreal and others used threats and violence to dominate the transmigrante industry in the Los Indios region by fixing prices and collecting extortion payments from competitors. They established a group called the “Pool” that centralized revenue collection among conspirators and forced other agencies to participate or pay additional fees.
“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 are individuals who arrange for transporting used vehicles from the United States through Mexico for resale further south into Central America; their operations cross at limited locations such as Los Indios Bridge near Harlingen and Brownsville.
The U.S.-based transmigrante forwarding agencies assist clients with customs paperwork required for exporting vehicles into Mexico. In this case, Villarreal participated in enforcing agreed-upon pricing among agencies while extracting fees from those outside their group.
To date, eight people have been convicted related to this scheme; seven have already been sentenced—including Carlos Martinez of McAllen, identified as leader, who received an 11-year sentence.
Three individuals named Rigoberto Brown, Miguel Hipolito Caballero Aupart, and Diego Ceballos-Soto remain fugitives following indictment.
The investigation was conducted by ICE-HSI and FBI teams. Prosecutors included Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander L. Alum alongside several attorneys from both DOJ’s Antitrust Division and Criminal Division.
Anyone with information about this case can contact authorities via HSI Tip Line (866-347-2423), FBI Tip Line (tips.fbi.gov), or reach out directly to local field offices or DOJ’s Antitrust Complaint Center (888-647-3258). Whistleblowers reporting original information leading to recoveries over $1 million may qualify for awards between 15%–30% under DOJ programs; more details are available at https://www.justice.gov/atr/whistleblower-rewards.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas oversees federal prosecutions across Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, and Brownsville offices (source). This office employs over 200 attorneys covering 43 counties with more than nine million residents (source). It is part of the Department of Justice under supervision by the Attorney General (source). Former leaders include Alamdar Hamdani (2022–2025) (source).
