A Tucson man was sentenced to 13 years in prison on federal charges of holding migrants for ransom.
Julio Cesar Rodriguez Rojas, 30, was sentenced earlier this month after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting conspiracy to hostage take, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona said in a news release.
Rodriguez Rojas was the last of three men to be sentenced in the case. Olegario Lares-De La Rosa and Ivan Heriberto Borboa-Ruiz, have been sentenced to 18 years and 14 years in prison, respectively, the release said.
The investigation began in April 2022, when a New York man reported to Homeland Security Investigations that two of his cousins, both undocumented immigrants, were being held captive for a $16,000 ransom demand, the release said.
The two were part of a group of six people who were abducted by armed men after crossing into the U.S., the release said.
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Undercover agents set up a money exchange in Tucson for the two cousins. Investigators say Borboa-Ruiz made the phone calls to arrange the exchange and Rodriguez Rojas instructed Lares-De La Rosa to bring the cousins from where they were being held.
The cousins were set free after agents handed over the money, the release said.
Agents arrested Borboa-Ruiz. Lares-De La Rosa was apprehended after a high-speed chase and Rodriguez Rojas was arrested in 2023, the release said.
