Four Houston residents are now in jail facing charges that they exchanged money to lift U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) immigration jail detainers on people being held at the Harris County Jail. The four charged in the scheme include several employees of a bail bond company and a former ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer.
According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Nicholas J. Ganjei. Houston residents Leopoldo Perrault Benitez, 53, Anthony Benitez, 32, Isaac Sierra, 51, and Jose Angel Muniz, 51, of La Porte, made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray when their indictment was unsealed. Judge Bray ordered the men into custody pending further criminal proceedings.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment of the group on June 24. The indictment alleges Leopoldo Benitez was the owner of the A Way Out Bail Bonds company in Houston. His son, Anthony Benitez, was an employee, while Sierra worked at International Bonding Company, according to the charges. The indictment also states that Jose Angel Muniz was a deportation officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
According to authorities, between April 2023 and March 2024, the three bail bondsmen paid Muniz, in his official capacity, to lift immigration detainers on illegal aliens in ICE custody awaiting removal. With the detainers removed, the illegal aliens would be able to secure release from detention without fear of being taken into custody and removed from the country by ERO officers.
In a press release announcing the indictment issued on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Ganjei stated, “The Southern District of Texas takes allegations of corruption by federal officers extremely seriously, particularly those entrusted with keeping our border secure and our nation safe.” Ganjei went on to say, “There is no room whatsoever for bribery or side deals when it comes to immigration enforcement.”
If convicted, all four face up to 15 years in prison and a fine equal to the equivalent value of the bribes offered and received or $250,000, whichever is greater. The case was investigated by the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility and the FBI.
This is not the first instance of indictments targeting fraud within the bail bond industry in Harris County. In July 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the indictment of 53 Houston-area residents for allegedly participating in a wire fraud scheme related to the use of falsified documents to obtain bail bonds for individuals charged with criminal offenses. In that case, employees of another bail bond company and dozens of co-conspirators were alleged to have falsified or obtained falsified financial reports from co-signers, which were needed to secure the release of criminal defendants. This was allegedly done to qualify individuals charged with criminal offenses who would not otherwise qualify to meet the terms of their bond.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
Read the full article here