Illegal alien siblings indicted on alien smuggling and fraud charges related to the sponsorship of unaccompanied alien child

ATLANTA - An indictment was unsealed today in the Northern District of Georgia charging two Honduran nationals with alien smuggling and fraud charges related to the smuggling of an unaccompanied alien child (UAC) and submission of an application to sponsor a UAC. The defendants were residing illegally in the United States at the time the alleged crimes were committed.

"Through coordinated lies and deception, two illegal aliens smuggled a child into our country to facilitate the exploitation of a 15-year-old child by a 30-year-old man," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "As a result of unwavering law enforcement dedication, the child has been removed from a predatory situation, and the deceitful duo who trafficked her will be held accountable for their crimes."

"This indictment alleges a disturbing scheme where two individuals who were in this country illegally lured a young girl to the United States, gave her a false identity and tried to fraudulently gain custody of her through the Office of Refugee Resettlement," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Government programs designed to afford protection cannot become tools for exploitation - especially of children. The Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Alpha will find those who deceive the government to gain access to vulnerable children and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

"Defrauding a program designed to protect vulnerable children and attempting to manipulate the sponsorship process is a serious crime that will not be tolerated," said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "These programs are intended to ensure the safety and well-being of children in need and must never be misused for personal gain. Working with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will aggressively pursue those who undermine these protections and bring them to justice."

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Luis Adolfo Mendoza Fonseca and his sister, Rosmery Yambiel Castillo Fonseca, allegedly encouraged and induced a UAC to come to, enter, and reside in the United States illegally and submitted an application to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under penalty of perjury to sponsor and obtain custody of the UAC after having entered the United States illegally.

As alleged in the indictment, in the Spring of 2024, Mendoza Fonseca and a then-15-year-old Nicaraguan national, the UAC, met online and began a romantic online relationship.

Thereafter, Mendoza Fonseca encouraged and induced the UAC to travel to the United States, paying for her travel and providing the UAC with the identity of a purported Honduran national to use when she entered the United States. The purpose in using the false identity was to enable Castillo Fonseca to sponsor the UAC. In March 2025, Castillo Fonseca submitted an application to ORR to sponsor the UAC, falsely identifying the UAC as her Honduran cousin. Mendoza Fonseca and Castillo Fonseca both admitted to staff at an HHS-funded care provider that the UAC was not the person identified in the sponsorship application, and that the UAC and Mendoza Fonseca had a romantic online relationship.

Earlier today, Luis Adolfo Mendoza Fonseca, 30, of Raleigh, North Carolina, and his sister, Rosmery Yambiel Castillo Fonseca, 25, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Atlanta and were arraigned on one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States; one count of aiding and abetting the encouragement and inducement of an alien to come to, enter, and reside in the United States for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain; and one count of aiding and abetting making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement. Both defendants were detained pending further proceedings. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for the conspiracy and aiding-and-abetting charges, and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the false statement charge. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation and charges are supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department of Justice's lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA's mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean, and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/ HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA's work has resulted in more than 440 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 390 U.S. convictions; more than 330 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General are investigating the case. HSI's Center for Countering Human Trafficking in Washington, D.C., and ORR have provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne Marek of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia and JTFA Trial Attorney Aaron Jennen and are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.