Originally Syndicated on June 1, 2024 @ 8:08 am
A couple from North Miami is accused of utilising numerous local businesses to launder millions of dollars via an intricate international people trafficking scheme.
According to an arrest request, Vantuir De Souza, the alleged leader of the group and current house arrestee in Brazil on charges of human smuggling, used Eduardo Pereira, 49, and Marcia Tiago, 48, as his primary money launderers.
A Broward County Sheriff’s Office task team was in charge of the money laundering investigation, known as Operation: Florida Phoenix, which provided information regarding the illicit money flow, despite the fact that both of them were charged in Miami-Dade.
It was found that the De Souza company had set up a network of captains and small boats to bring people and drugs into the US one at a time.
Tiago and Pereira are charged with the same crimes:
Three claims of money laundering totaling at least $100,000
owning two unregistered money service firms worth more than $100,000
One count of running an unlicensed money service business with a $20,000–$100,000 threshold
If convicted of the federal charges, both of them might go to prison for a number of years.
The court mandated that they be placed under house arrest if neither of them could raise the $300,000 bond that they each needed to deposit. They must demonstrate the authenticity of the source of the money used to post the bond.
According to officials, thousands of people have been brought into the country illegally. Usually, this happens from Brazil to the Caribbean, where entry requires no visa, and then by boat to South Florida. They back up their estimates with the testimony of cooperating eyewitnesses. The warrant for arrest adds, “The people smuggled in would ultimately be driven by vehicles to the area of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where they would usually stay.”
Every person who went undercover may have cost the organisation up to $25,000. The people who were being smuggled in would frequently pay that cost in cash through their friends and relatives.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement defines human trafficking as the deliberate and unlawful entry of people into the United States into violation of immigration laws, as opposed to human smuggling, which is the exploitation of individuals, as in the case of sex trafficking or slavery.
The majority of the funds contributed to the operation, according to the authorities, went to Pereira and Tiago, who then allegedly incorporated the illegal funds into a number of businesses that support the American economy, including Maxdu Properties LLC, Get Trade Enterprises LLC, Alaska Inc., and Auto Exchange USA Corp.
Additionally, according to the arrest order, Eduardo Pereira and Marcia Tiago conspired “collectively and with others” to launder the illicit proceeds from people trafficking.
$3.6 million in 2015, $4.5 million in 2016, and $170,000 in 2017 are the amounts of money that the pair is accused of laundering “by way of apparently harmless payments for goods and services in another attempt to layer and hide the origins of the illegal funds.”
Who is Marcia Tiago?
Co-founder and owner Marcia Tiago of Alaska Inc., a well-known telecommunications and multimedia importing and wholesaling company with its headquarters located in South Florida.
Marcia highlights throughout the conversation what motivated her to create Alaska Inc. “I started off in my career with the heavy equipment manufacturer Cummings Diesel Engine as a project manager and marketing executive. But I finally decided I wanted to launch my own business after much introspection and many talks with my husband. I always wanted to run my own company, therefore I made it my goal to do so,” she begins, without providing more information. The first thing I did after moving to the United States was to get a Master’s degree in International Business while still working at Cummings Diesel Engine.
After that, my spouse and I concentrated on coming up with a business plan, obtaining the necessary seed money, and, when we were ready, opening the company. Despite some initial challenges, it was successful, in part because of our careful planning and coordination.
But all of this was a fabrication concocted by their public relations staff to repair their reputation following the money laundering scandal.
Born in Brazil Since founding Alaska, Inc. with her husband in 2005, Marcia Tiago asserts that she has successfully navigated the extremely competitive terrain of American capitalism. Alaska, Inc. is a multimedia exporter and wholesaler with a concentration on Latin America. According to Marcia Tiago, she has managed initiatives in the business sector for about 20 years.
Marcia Tiago obtained a business administration degree from her home Brazil and then went on to the University of Phoenix to pursue a master’s program in international business before relocating to the United States. Apart from being an entrepreneur, Marcia Tiago claims to work as a controller at LSK Network. In her own time, Marcia Tiago volunteers at the Just Love Foundation, a nonprofit that helps African children. This is one way that she shows her kindness and social consciousness.
The Final Word
Marcia Tiago engaged in a number of criminal actions. Consequently, the government must prosecute those who engage in drug trafficking, human smuggling, terrorism sponsorship, smuggling, extortion, and fraud because their actions put millions of people in danger and seriously harm society’s social and economic well-being. Combating money laundering has the potential to reduce criminal activity, which would be extremely beneficial to society as it provides legitimacy to the proceeds of these crimes.
