Houston furniture flipper sentenced for smuggling three dozen illegal aliens

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 29-year-old Houston man has been ordered to prison after unlawfully transporting illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Louis Dante Anthony pleaded guilty Jan. 30.

U.S. District Judge David Morales has now ordered Anthony to serve 30 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that described the dangerous way the 36 aliens were locked into a false compartment with no air and no means of escape. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the seriousness of the way the aliens were transported.

On Dec. 8, 2024, Anthony drove to the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint where he claimed he was hauling furniture from Edington and was heading to Victoria. He denied having any passengers in his vehicle and said he was simply a furniture flipper.

An x-ray scan revealed 36 individuals trapped in an 8 by 4.25-foot false compartment at the front of the box truck. The illegal aliens had no access to air, could not be heard from the outside and were unable to get themselves out of the compartment. The illegal aliens were from Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

Anthony will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley A. Pruitt prosecuted the case.