Man charged with bringing in and harboring illegal aliens from Peru

An Orem man is accused of charging people thousands of dollars to bring them illegally into the United States, via a coyote, and having them live in his and family members' homes.

Jose Hernan Moreno-Sevilla is charged with bringing in and harboring illegal aliens. Another Orem man, Alejandro M. Meza -- Moreno-Sevilla's brother-in-law -- is charged with harboring illegal aliens. Each charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years.

Moreno-Sevilla owns 10 homes, including one in Lindon and one in Orem, according to court documents. Meza owns six homes, including one in Orem.

According to documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, a citizen of Peru paid Moreno-Sevilla and his family about $7,500 to smuggle him into the U.S. from Peru. The man, identified as M.A.S.-L. in court documents, borrowed $2,500 from Moreno-Sevilla's parents to unlawfully purchase a Mexican visa, which allowed him to get into Mexico and then illegally cross into the United States.

The investigation into Moreno-Sevilla and his family started in February, when U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Leslie Derewonko interviewed M.A.S.-L., according to court documents. The investigation included interviews, surveillance and taped phone conversations.

M.A.S.-L. told Derewonko that in July 2005 he and two other men used the illegally obtained visas to travel through Mexico, eventually arriving in Phoenix, according to the court records. When they got to Phoenix, they met Moreno-Sevilla and members of his family in a trailer. Moreno-Sevilla then loaded the men into a rented truck and charged them $1,500 each to drive them to Utah. When they got to Utah, M.A.S.-L. was taken to Moreno-Sevilla's sister and brother-in-law's Orem home, and the other two men went to Moreno-Sevilla's Orem home.

The three men went to work for Moreno-Sevilla's construction company to pay back the money they owed for being smuggled into the country, according to court records. M.A.S.-L. told the special agent that he worked 6-1/2 days a week, 12-14 hours per day, for a year. He earned $9,500, $8,500 of which went to Moreno-Sevilla and his family for smuggling, housing and transportation. M.A.S.-L. told Derewonko that Moreno-Sevilla paid him $1,000 in July 2007, which was a portion of the money owed for work he did for Moreno-Sevilla.

While he was living with Moreno-Sevilla's sister and brother-in-law, he wasn't allowed to call his parents in Peru without being monitored, according to court records. Also, Moreno-Sevilla kept his passport and told him every yellow vehicle belonged to immigration officials. Also while he lived there, about five other illegal immigrants from Peru and Mexico lived there, too. He told Derewonko that he paid $100 every two weeks for food, but didn't have to pay rent. The other five men paid $300 per month in rent. M.A.S.-L. moved out of the home in July 2006.

In a phone call with M.A.S.-L. taped by immigration officials on Feb. 14, Moreno-Sevilla admitted to transporting him and his two uncles from Peru to Phoenix for a price set by his wife, according to court documents. Moreno-Sevilla also said that the amount he paid to the smuggler, called a coyote, was less than what the illegal immigrants paid him.

In addition, M.A.S.-L. told Derewonko that during a meeting with Moreno-Sevilla on July 2, Moreno-Sevilla said he wasn't bringing anyone else from Peru to the U.S. until August or September because he didn't have the money, according to the documents. M.A.S.-L. told Derewonko that Moreno-Sevilla said one of M.A.S.-L.'s friends in Peru had contacted him to bring him to the U.S., and he also asked if M.A.S.-L. wanted his younger brother to be brought to the U.S.

In October, M.A.S.-L. told Derewonko that another man had been brought to the U.S. by Moreno-Sevilla and his family and was living with a family member.