I.C.E.News Release

August 22, 2013
South Bend, IN

Indianapolis woman sentenced to 39 months in prison for obtaining vehicle registrations for more than 300 illegal aliens

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — An Indianapolis woman was sentenced Monday to three years and three months in federal prison for conspiring to obtain vehicle registrations for more than 300 illegal aliens.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), and the Indiana Secretary of State.

Sandra Alfaro, 36, of Indianapolis, was sentenced Aug. 19 by U.S. District Judge Robert Miller Jr. to 39 months in prison after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of conspiring to harbor illegal aliens and conspiring to commit mail fraud.

Alfaro was the owner of Servicios Mi Tierra, a business that provided services, including working with the BMV, to obtain license plates and vehicle titles.

Alfaro engaged in identity fraud by creating dummy corporations for illegal aliens so they could register and title their motor vehicles, and to harbor, conceal and shield them from detection by law enforcement officials. Her scheme helped people, who were in the United States illegally, sidestep BMV requirements that the owner of a vehicle have a Social Security number and proof of insurance before registering a vehicle.

To execute the scheme, Alfaro created corporations by falsely representing to the Indiana Secretary of State that the aliens owned businesses and the purpose of the corporations. Between 2009 and the middle of 2011, Alfaro helped at least 300 aliens remain in the United States by helping them secure plates, titles and registration documents from the BMV.

In addition to creating fictitious corporations, Alfaro worked with Paulino Ascencion-Apolino, 23, of Elkhart, Ind., in the South Bend and Goshen areas by completing BMV paperwork for him and then processing that paperwork at BMV branches in Indianapolis. She notarized signatures that she did not witness and submitted forged documents to the BMV to falsify residency and insurance coverage.

Ascencion-Apolino, also using the name Servicos Mi Tierra, had offices in South Bend, Elkhart and Highland, Ind. from autumn 2010 to May 2011. Ascencion-Apolino, who helped harbor more than 100 aliens, was sentenced in February 2012 to 33 months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $60,000 seized from several bank accounts for his role in the conspiracy. On March 16, 2012, Ramon Garcia, 39, of Berrien Springs, Mich., who had been working for Ascencion-Apolino, was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

"Sandra Alfaro blatantly abused legitimate government services to unlawfully obtain vehicle registrations for hundreds of illegal aliens," said HSI Chicago Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Hartwig. "Identity fraud erodes the integrity of our nation's immigration system and has far-reaching and damaging implications. This lengthy prison sentence demonstrates HSI's resolve to work with our law enforcement partners to stop this type of criminal activity."

U.S. Attorney David Capp stated, "The validity of identification and licensing documents is a critical law enforcement and public safety issue. We have an excellent working relationship with our federal law enforcement agencies and with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Their thorough and professional work here led to this result in federal court. This working relationship is ongoing and the United States Attorney's Office will continue to prioritize these types of investigations."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Hays, Northern District of Indiana, prosecuted this case.


U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1308/130822southbend.htm