U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Herman Vazquez-Padilla, 32, of Plant City, Sept. 19, to 27 months in federal prison for conspiring to transport 100 or more illegal aliens.
Vazquez-Padilla pleaded guilty on June 26, 2012.
According to court documents, since 2010, Vazquez-Padilla conspired with the proprietors of multiple businesses in Pinellas County to recruit and transport illegal aliens as employees for those businesses.
Vazquez-Padilla served as a point of contact for the business owners whenever they needed employees who were not legally present in the United States and who did not possess work authorization documents. After a business owner requested new employees, Vazquez-Padilla would find prospective workers and bring them to the business. For his recruiting and transporting services, Vazquez-Padilla charged the new workers a fee. Since 2010, Vazquez-Padilla recruited and transported more than 100 illegal aliens.
This case was investigated by the Clearwater Area Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Clearwater Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph W. Swanson.