Foreign National Residing in Chicago Suburb Indicted for Allegedly Bringing Illegal Aliens Into United States and Forcing Them To Work

CHICAGO - A foreign national residing in a Chicago suburb has been indicted in federal court for allegedly bringing illegal aliens into the United States for private financial gain.

FREDY HERNANDEZ knowingly brought four illegal aliens from Honduras into the United States in 2022 and 2023, according to an indictment returned on Feb. 2, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Once in the United States, Hernandez forced the victims to work for his private financial gain, the indictment states. Hernandez threatened the victims and made them believe that if they did not perform the work, they or others would suffer serious harm, the indictment states.

Hernandez, 46, is a citizen of Honduras who resided in Waukegan, Ill. The indictment charges him with four counts of bringing illegal aliens to the United States for commercial advantage, four counts of harboring illegal aliens, and four counts of forced labor. Each count of bringing in and harboring aliens is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, while each forced labor count is punishable by up to 20 years. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner.